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THE LIGHT OF LIFE

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Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Dec 12, 1900

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 26, No. 50.

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THE LIGHT OF LIFE.

By William S. Sadler

"In Him was life; and the life was the Light of men." He is "the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world." Jesus Himself says: "I am the Light of the world." "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." John 1:4, 9; 9:5; 10:10.
In the light that shines from the throne of God, there is life for those who accept it, and who are willing to walk in it. "If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin." 1 John 1:7. On one side we have light and life; on the other side, darkness and death. As children of God, we have been called out of darkness (death) into His marvelous light (life).
"With Thee is the fountain of life: in Thy light shall we see light." Ps. 36:9. The light of life must penetrate to our hearts. It must influence the whole life. It must illumine the mind and transform the character. It is not enough to hold truth as a theory in the mind; it must reach the heart, and find expression in the life. The light we refuse to live will be taken from us; yea, it will go out in darkness, and our souls will be left in awful peril.
"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Matt. 5:16. We let our light shine by living it. The true light is the life of Christ; for "in Him was life, and the life was the light of men." Every soul that walks in the light, as far as it has been revealed to him, will be glorifying God by the life he lives.
"Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world. He that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." John 8:12. The child of God walks not in darkness, the way of death. He walks in the way of the light of life. Every ray of divine light is laden with the divine life. It is by the aid of this light that we come to know God, whom to know "is life eternal." John 17:3.
The rejection of light is the rejection of life. To neglect or reject rays of light from the Word of truth is in reality to crucify Christ afresh, and put Him to open shame. The trampling underfoot of light is the crucifixion of life. The acceptance or rejection of light is that which turns the judgment balance in which every soul must hang.
In accepting the light of truth, man takes hold of the most powerful transforming agent in the universe. We should not waste precious time in fighting error. Hold up the light. Let the light of life shine in and through us; and just as the rays of sunlight mean sudden death to any and all disease germs, so the rays of the light of life are the most powerful means with which to combat error. Then let us waste no time in antagonizing the wrong. Simply let the light of truth shine forth in the moral darkness round about. W. S. SADLER.