“For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
The LORD gives grace and glory;
No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.”
Psalm 84:11

Quoting from Isaiah, Jesus tells us in Matthew 4:16,
“The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great light,
And to those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death,
Upon them a light dawned.”

In the Old Testament light was promised--
To the obedient:
“Light is sown for the righteous,
And gladness for the upright heart.”  Psalm 97:11

To the upright:
“Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness…”  Psalm 112:4

To the just:
“But the path of the just is as the shining light, 
That shines more and more unto the perfect day.”  Proverbs 4:18

To the future church:
“Your sun shall no longer go down,
Nor shall your moon withdraw itself;
For the LORD will be your everlasting light…”  Isaiah 60:20

Moving on to the New Testament--
Speaking of the Word, Christ Jesus, John in his gospel tells us,
“In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.”  John 1:4 

But there was a forerunner, John the Baptist, as we see in John 1:6-8.
“There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
This man came for a witness, to bear witness to the Light, that all through him might believe.
He was not the Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.”

In John 8:12,
“Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world.  He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.’”

“This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.”  1 John 1:5

Since Christ is light and those who follow Him, walk in light.  Hence, those who do not follow Christ are in darkness; there is much darkness in the world!

John 3:19-20, Jesus speaking,
“And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.
For everyone practicing evil hates the light, lest his deeds be exposed.”

For the believer the light is already shining in our hearts as the Apostle Paul tells us,
“For it is God who commanded light to shine out of the darkness who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”  2 Corinthians 4:6

Paul also tells us in Romans 13:12,
“…let us cast off the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light.”

And Paul tells us,
“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.  Walk as children of the light.”  Ephesians 5:8

The Apostle John gives us a sobering word in 1 John 2:7-11 as he tightly ties light and love of the brethren together.    (Read the passage.)
Verses 9-11 tell us,
“He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now.
He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him.
But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.”

I close with the chorus of a song written many years ago by Peggy Meier, our sister in Christ;
“Love, life, light are mine 
 When I draw from Christ my King.
 Peace, joy they truly shine
 When I see Him in everything.”

Only in Christ our Lord and King do we have life, light and true love.
Glory to Him now and forever.  Amen