John 12:35, 36

Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.” When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.

The devotional content on the YouVersion app today is wonderful.  Jesus is telling the disciples that his physical time with them is coming to close.  I can't even begin to comprehend that relationship...to have been physically present when God became flesh and moved into the neighborhood.  I'm afriad that I would have been pretty thick headed and as confused as the disciples at times.  It's so easy to look back on someone else's experiences and think you would have acted differently forgetting you have the benefit of seeing the "whole" picture.  I do wonder what it would have been like to feel that amazing love in that physical context...to see His example in all the little details, the stories that didn't make the Bible.  One of the ladies at church last week shared that she had learned that Jesus had 4 brothers and 2 sisters...this was big revelation for her (I didn't know the numbers either...just knew that there were brothers and sisters) and that it changed how she viewed the Christmas season.  For me, it makes the fact that He was sinless...even with siblings... more of a miracle.   :)  

So this description of Jesus as the light is really something...we hear it often but sometimes the comparison fails to impress...I think about the time I was touring a cave...and to demonstrate what it would be like to be lost in a cave...they turn off the lights.  I was amazed by the true darkness...I could see nothing...only black.  Terrifying.  That is life without the light of Jesus...  He loved us so much that He gave himself for us...so we wouldn't have to face that place of cold and isolation...the very pit of despair.  What an amazing gift of hope and love.  Thank you Jesus...Indeed...thank you.