“If then, your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light.”
- Luke 11:36
This is a fantastic roller coaster of a chapter. It’s also a chapter we tend to know its parts but rarely read it as a whole chapter, or at least that has been true for me. Reading it as a whole allows us to make some important connections in understanding it!
This chapter starts with the disciples asking Jesus to teach them how they should pray. This is a common practice a rabbi’s and their disciples to have a prayer that acts almost like a creed. This creed includes key teachings of Christ and what they seek from the Father: Kingdom, Daily Needs, Forgiveness of Sins, Forgiving Others, and Strength against Temptation. In Matthew, we then get a critical teaching on forgiveness, but in Luke, we get a critical teaching on praying for the giving of the Holy Spirit.
Forgiveness is important for sure; how can we expect to be forgiven when we refuse to forgive others? Yet, Jesus is teaching His followers to be in constant prayer for the Holy Spirit, to ask, seek, and knock for it. As we ask for it, God will surely answer and give the Spirit. As we seek it in the fog of life, we will surely find the Spirit. As we knock, we will surely be welcomed into life in the Spirit.
Let’s just dwell on that a bit longer…
“If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
- Luke 11:13
When was the last time you even prayed to receive the Holy Spirit? Yes, He dwells in all believers, our bodies are a temple, and all those New Testament theology things. Yet, when was the last time your attention was on the Holy Spirit’s leading in your life? His nudging and His whispers. He prompts us to create peace.
Pause even this very moment, pray, ask, seek, knock…
Who’s side are we on?
One of the reasons this is so crucial for the stories is immediately after verse 13. Jesus is thought to be working for Beelzebul, the prince of the demons. Others still thought His ability to cast out demons came from other authorities. Jesus challenged this point of view, explaining that a kingdom divided against itself will surely fall. Why would demons who gain “territory” in people’s lives get cast out by their ruler? What kind of strategy is that? Winning by losing? Jesus represents and is the authority of the Kingdom of God, the stronger man able to overwhelm and defeat the other strong man. This is easy for Jesus.
This is much harder for us though. The territories being fought over are not necessarily soil, but our hearts are the battleground. Warfare happens as much inside of us as we think it happens outside of us. Galatians even talk about this warfare between the flesh and the Spirit.
As we take time to seek and pray to receive the Holy Spirit, we are trying to align our desires to the Spirit, rather than the flesh. We are trying to decide the priorities of our life and then the implications of those priorities. We are choosing whose side we are on.
Life of Light:
This brings us back to the light. Particularly Jesus’ teaching and encouragement that the whole body needs to be full of light. To be wholly bright is to be full of the Holy Spirit. Which begins internally, yet will shine brightly to the world around us.
It may help to see the kind of life that is dark. In verses 37-52, Jesus gives a warning to the Pharisees and the Lawyers. Particularly targeting their lives that are dark, dirty, and wicked.
To the Pharisees, Jesus commends their tithes. They give and do the religious side, however at a great neglect for achieving real justice and love. They have put a cover over their lamp, diminishing the light. For while they shine in the temple and the synagogues, their lives are dark elsewhere. They neglect the widow, the poor, and the underprivileged. Meanwhile, they enjoy the prestige they receive as teachers of the Law, even as they fail to keep the spirit of the Law.
To the Lawyers, Jesus accuses them of burdening the people, while never lifting the burden themselves. Jesus also lays on them the murders of prophets and the hindering of knowledge.
In contrast, a life full of the Light of the Spirit is someone who achieves justice and lives in the love of God and neighbor. They are humble while being generous in their giving. They are someone who is full of accurate knowledge and discerns the nudging of the Holy Spirit. They are someone who reflects the Light of Christ in their life. It’s easy to assess this outwardly, and a deeper investigation will show consistency internally.
Final Blessing:
So have we asked to be filled to our brims with the Holy Spirit? Have we sought through the caverns of our hearts to where the Holy Spirit reaches and dwells? Have we knocked on the door persistently until it is opened? AKA, have you continued to pray for the Holy Spirit’s felt presence and leadership in your life? Do so today, so that way you may lead a life shining the light of God into this world, just as Jesus has called us to do.
Now may the Lord of Life and Redemption be with you in every step, every breath, and every heartbeat of your journey!
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