Don't light your own fire

 

This year I’m going through the Bible in chronological order. Today’s reading took me through Isaiah 49-53. There’s so much in these chapters I could talk about, but what God impressed on me to share with my readers is found in Isaiah 50:10-11.

10 Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the voice of his servant? Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God.

11 Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who equip yourselves with burning torches! Walk by the light of your fire and by the torches that you have kindled! This you have from my hand: you shall lie down in torment.

Light and darkness in the bible

Light in the bible symbolizes holiness, goodness, knowledge, wisdom, grace, hope, and God's revelation. Isaiah 2:5 tells the people of Israel to “come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.” In the New Testament, the apostle John records Jesus's claim that He is the light of the world and those who follow Him will not walk in darkness but will “have the light of life.”

Darkness is the opposite of light. It represents all that separates us from God. I saw a meme on Facebook this morning that said, “Satan’s biggest lie is, if you do good you will go to heaven.” This reminded me of verses 10-11 in Isaiah 50.

In verse 10 those who fear the Lord obey his voice. In contrast, those in the darkness have no light. They are in darkness. God’s word tells them to “trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God.” This is an invitation to step out of darkness and to come into the light.

Verse 11 talks about people trusting in their own light (leaning on their own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6). They kindle fire and equip themselves with burning torches. Note, this is not the light of the Lord, but the light of their own making. It represents anything we do on our own that makes us think we are good. This can include religion, good deeds, turning over a new leaf, etc. If it is from our own efforts, it’s a fire of our own making. And what is the result? The consequence is that those people “shall lie down in torment.” The Hebrew word for torment means “place of pain, place of grief.” It can also mean “terror.” Yikes! 

Grace through faith

That Facebook meme post I referred to earlier also included this verse: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, so that no one may boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). I’d also like to add v. 10 which says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

Yes, good works are part of the Christian life, but good works aren’t what get us to heaven. We were created in Christ for good works. God prepared these works ahead of time. We are to walk in them. That word walk, in the Greek, means to make one's way, progress; to make due use of opportunities. So once we have stepped from darkness and accepted the gift of life, we walk in His light and take advantage of the opportunities he places before us because we love him and want to serve him.

Those who receive Him

In the first chapter of the Gospel of John, John the Baptist refers to Jesus as the “true light, which gives light to everyone (v 9). That he was “in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him (v. 10). That he came to his people but they did not receive him (v11). BUT, “all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” (v. 12) and these believers were born spiritually not by some physical means, or the will of the flesh, or the will of man, but of God (v. 13).

Adam and Eve were created as eternal beings. When sin came into the world they became mortal. Their flesh began to die. It is because of sin that death, sickness, and corruption came into the world. But what most people don't understand is that they died spiritually too. And that is the condition of man. It is why we need to be born again.

We are still eternal beings, but our flesh is only a temporary abode. It is life after this that is forever. We will even receive a new eternal body. But where will we live? Our destination will depend on whether we believe the truth and become a child of light, or we reject that truth and remain in the darkness. The darkness that comes from lighting our own fire is the result of not believing.  

The Inheritance

In my Christian allegory, The Inheritance, people who have accepted the Truth bear the light within their hearts. They are Lightbearers. But others wear a man-made pendant of light around their necks and also call themselves lightbearers. The difference: their light is of their own making. 

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