Luke 11, Part 2 (5)

Pray Psalm 27.1-3.
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?
When the wicked came against me
To eat up my flesh,
My enemies and foes,
They stumbled and fell.
Though an army may encamp against me,
My heart shall not fear;
Though war may rise against me,
In this I will be confident.

Sing Psalm 27.1-3.
(St. Denio: Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise)
Lord, You are our Light and our Savior most dear!
You guard us with might; therefore, whom shall we fear?
Though evil surround us, our enemies fall.
No harm shall confound us when on You we call.

Read Luke 11.1-36; meditate on verses 33-36.

Preparation
1. What did Jesus say about our eye?

2. What are we to guard against?

Meditation
This wonderful passage is fraught with meaning and wise counsel. Jesus likens the eye to a lamp which shines its light into our whole body, including the soul, which the body contains (v. 34). The eye’s function is thus to bring light into every facet of our lives, that we might shine the light through all our words and deeds (v. 33). While Jesus seems to be thinking about the physical eye, certainly the “eye of the heart” (Eph. 1.18) is also in His mind. Indeed, the eye is being used here metaphorically to represent all our senses. “Light” comes into us via all our senses, the eye simply being the most prominent of them all.

Our senses are always receptive to our surroundings, and if our surroundings are primarily the darkness of wrong belief and sin, then that’s what we’ll see, savor, smell, touch, and hear. And darkness rather than light will enter our soul and affect our bodily lives, so that we cannot walk in the light as Jesus is in the light, but will only walk in the darkness of sin.

The light we need at every moment is the light of Jesus. We need to see Jesus in His Word, hear Him in our songs of praise and in all the wondrous sounds of creation, smell the fragrance of life in Him, touch the hem of His garment in prayer, and taste to see that He is good. As Hopkins observed, “Christ plays in 10,000 places”, and if we’re willing, attentive, and disciplined, we can receive His light without interruption, so that our soul and body are shaped by Jesus, and we are transformed by His glory into His own likeness (2 Cor. 3.12-18).

Guard your eyes, and all your senses. Strive to know Jesus and the light of His grace in every situation and thing, and you will have plenty of Jesus’ light to shine on the world around you.

Treasures Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
“…having no part dark” (Lk. 11.36).

Jesus used this teaching opportunity to reiterate His lessons on empty and full. Filling our lives with the light of Jesus will leave no part or space empty for darkness to ensue.

“But the path of the just is like the shining sun,
that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.
The way of the wicked is darkness;
they do not know what makes them stumble” (Prov. 4.18, 19).

When we allow no part of our heart to be empty and dark, but filled full with the bright Spirit of Jesus, then we will not stumble into sin that catches us unaware because we just couldn’t see it. Our path will be
bright enough to humbly proceed into the mercy and justice of God. This is the required path, given to us by the LORD God (Mic. 6.8).

Jesus told His disciples, “You are the light of the world” (Matt. 5.14). That job description leaves no room for darkness to impede anywhere. If we also, are to be the light of the world, we must never allow any part of our lives to be dark. We must sweep our heart clean from the “sin which so easily ensnares us” so that we will “run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus…” (Heb. 12.1, 2), and being filled with His Holy Spirit.

This is not an optional component of our sanctification. The characteristic of light is expedient—advisable, judicious, prudent, desirable, wise—and without it we find ourselves totally in the dark. “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 and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God” (Jn. 3.19, 20).

“…that those who come in may see the light” (Lk. 11.33).

For reflection
1. How should you prepare each day to make sure the light of Jesus fills your soul and life?

2. How can you know when the darkness is seeking to penetrate your soul? What does that feel like? What should you do at such times?

3. On whom do you expect the light of Jesus to shine through you today?

We should pray without ceasing that our hearts and understandings may be opened, that we may profit by the light we enjoy. And especially take heed that the light which is in us be not darkness; for if our leading principles be wrong, our judgment and practice must become more so. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on Luke 11.33-36

Pray Psalm 27.4-14.
Call on the Lord to show you His glory in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 4.6). Pray that His Word will light your path throughout the day, and that His Spirit will illuminate your soul with the truth of God.

Sing Psalm 27.4-14.
(St. Denio: Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise)
One thing we request but to dwell with You, Lord,
Your beauty to test and to think on Your Word.
In trouble You hide us secure in Your grace.
No foe may o’erride us: We sing of Your praise!

Hear, Lord, when we cry and be gracious, we pray!
Lord, do not deny us Your favor this day!
Our help, our salvation, though others may fall,
preserve our good station when on You we call.

Lord, teach us; Lord, lead us because of our foes!
Hear, Lord, when we plead for release from their woes.
Had we not believed all Your goodness to see,
our heart sorely grieved and in turmoil would be.

Wait, wait on the Lord; persevere in His grace.
Hold fast to His Word; seek His radiant face.
Be strong, set your heart to abide in His Word.
His grace He imparts; therefore, wait on the Lord.

T. M. and Susie Moore

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (Williston: Waxed Tablet Publications, 2006), available by clicking here.