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"This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed" (John 3:19, 20).

Yesterday's message introduced the concept of spiritual troglomorphism. "Troglomorphism is the morphological adaptation of an organism to living in the constant darkness of caves, characterized by features such as loss of pigment, reduced eyesight or blindness, and frequently with attenuated bodies and/or appendages."

When reading about this I thought of a spiritual application, especially how that reduced spiritual eyesight or blindness can be a consequence of living in spiritual darkness. I did a Bible word study examining verses that contained both "light" and "darkness" and shared part of that list in yesterday's message. (The list is also posted below.)

Today we want to consider an easily observable truth regarding spiritual troglomorphism; the grave consequence of living in darkness to the point that one becomes spiritually blind. Spiritual blindness is a natural condition of the human race but it seems in our age this blindness is intensifying. In fact it seems to us the state religion now increasingly seeks to diminish the light of Biblical truth.
John 3:16 is certainly one of the best known verses in the entire Bible. Most of our readers can quote it from memory and more than a few can go on and quote verse 17 as well, "For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved."

However the understandable grandeur of John 3:16 may tend to diminish the rich, instructive material that follows. Bible students differ as to whether John 3:16-21 are the words of Jesus following His discourse with Nicodemus or whether these are the interpretive words of John when he wrote his gospel late in the 1st century. Either way they are God's inspired Word!

Regardless of whether these are the words of Jesus or a part of John's inspired teaching we should seek to understand this portion in its context. Today's text is a macro assessment of the human race.

"This is the verdict." (NIV)  Other translations render it "this is the judgment" (NASV, ESV), "The [basis of the] judgment (indictment, the test by which men are judged, the ground for the sentence) lies in this" (Amplified), "This is why people are condemned" (GW) The sense is that what follows is the explanation for man's condition.

"Light has come into the world." The Greek has the definite article "the" before light and we believe this is very significant. In the Gospel and Epistles of John "the light" is Jesus Christ (see John 1:4-9; 8:12: 9:5; 12:46; 1 John 1:5). The Light coming into the world is at the very heart of the Gospel message.

"But men loved darkness instead of light."  Again we have the definite article in the Greek prior to both light and darkness precisely reading, "But men loved the darkness instead of the light." (See here for Greek interlinear scrolling down to v.19.) This is a matter of fact statement that explains much about human nature and the response to the Gospel. Many people would prefer to live in the darkness rather than the light. This preference, a result of the fall, leads to spiritual troglomorphism.

"Because their deeds were [are] evil." For those of us living in the glorious light of Jesus Christ we marvel that anyone would choose darkness but many do. The awful consequence of spiritual troglomorphism is that the more one spends in darkness his eyesight for spiritual things is diminished and he increasingly becomes blinded.

The next verse continues, "Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed" (John 3:20).  And, of course, many are unwilling to do that so they continue to live in the darkness. In fact they become spiritual nyctophiliacs who love the darkness.

When we come into the light we must deal with our evil deeds, confess, and repent. As we do so we experience another word with morphis in it, metamorphisis in Romans 12:2, which is translated transformed!

Today, we encourage believers all over the world to join us as we live in the light of Christ and walk according to the light of His Word! May this statement be true of us today, that we love light rather than darkness! We come under the truth of Jesus Christ: "But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God" (John 3:21).


Be encouraged today,


Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

Daily prayer: Father, Your love comes like a light in the darkness, the bright star in the east that burst forth in the Bethlehem skies. The hosts of heaven made it a song of joy and celebration as Jesus was born into the world, the Saviour for all mankind. In the darkness of night the light of Christ appeared drawing people near and far to follow Him, then and now. And at the same time there are many who are drawn to darkness who are indifferent or intolerant of anything that pertains to Jesus and the salvation He provided. And, tragically, there are those who once walked in the light who have entered into the caverns of darkness and taken on the attitudes and actions consistent with those who walk in darkness. We don't understand such thinking since we who once were blind can now see, but we know it to be true. Thank You for the freedom to choose, and Lord, we choose You now and for all eternity! Amen.

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Here is the long selection of Scripture verses on this contrast between light and darkness we shared yesterday:

• "You, Lord, are my lamp; the Lord turns my darkness into light" (2 Samuel 22:29).
• "He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings utter darkness into the light" (Job 12:22).
• "You, Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light" (Psalm 18:28)
• "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter" (Isaiah 5:20).
• "The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned" (Isaiah 9:2). (This was quoted by Jesus when He began to preach Matthew 4:12-17).
• "But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!" (Matthew 6:23)
• "When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).
• "I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness" (John 12:46).
• "I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me" (Acts 26:17,18).
• "The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light" (Romans 13:12).
• "Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?" (2 Corinthians 6:14).
  
• "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light" (Ephesians 5:8).
• 'You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness" (1 Thessalonians 5:5).
• "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light" (1 Peter 2:9).
• "Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining" (1 John 2:8)

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