“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:1-5
Overcoming One—Revisited
John is proclaiming who Jesus was, is and always will be. Nothing exists without Him. He is the life and the light of men. All the darkness of the world couldn’t overcome Him then, just as it can’t now. As I wrote in a devotional awhile ago, the Lord gives me a word or theme every year to kind of meditate on and embrace. This year it’s overcoming one.
In the first devotional I looked at the promises contained in Scripture for the one who overcomes, knowing the victory comes from Christ in us. When He first gave it to me, I have to admit I wasn’t that thrilled. I really wasn’t looking forward to overcoming a bunch of things! But as I “sat on it” and pressed into it awhile longer I realized, as with most of life, it isn’t about me at all—it’s about my Savior.
The darkness of the world couldn’t overcome Him. Therefore since He lives in my heart, the darkness of the world cannot overcome me either (1 John 4:4). He has already triumphed over darkness and the things of this world; when we believe that Jesus is the Son of God, we overcome the world by our faith (1 John 5:4).
So I have to ask, first and foremost, do you believe Jesus is the Son of God? If you haven’t already done so, I urge you to invite Him into your heart as your Lord and Savior. Secondly, as believers, do people see Jesus in us? He is our light and our life; do we act like it? Do we draw from Him to overcome the darkness of the world around us? I pray the answers to all these questions are yes, but if not, I pray you ask Him for salvation, strength and the help of the Holy Spirit to shine the love of Jesus.
“Lord, praise You and thank You for our very existence, for being our life and our light, and for reminding us that You are the Overcoming One. Since You have overcome the darkness, so can we. Help our light so shine that we would draw others to You. Amen.”