John 8:12 - Shadow Run

No, this isn't about a 5K.

Jesus once said,
“I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” John 8:12 (New American Standard Bible, 1995)

Jesus' opponents, the self-righteous, self-confident Pharisees immediately started to argue with the truth of His statement because they didn't want to follow Jesus--certainly not as the "Light of life." They were already in darkness and preferred to stay there.

But even when we've started out trusting in Jesus as our guiding light, we can sometimes forget who is in front and who is following.

God wants to "lead me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake," (Psalm 23:3) but if I start running ahead for my own sake, I leave the Light behind me. Life can go on "as usual" for a while in that state, but eventually it catches up with me. I get so far ahead of Jesus that I find myself running in the dark. 

My mom, Dorothy Carlson, once put it this way:
"Only when I run before the Light do I shadow my own path."

Jesus, there are plenty of things that can make my way look dark or uncertain. Keep me from running in a shadow by getting ahead of You, the Light of the World. Amen.