In John 8:12 Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Rev Bob Wilson, Free Churches Faith Adviser, has spent some time lately reflecting on these verses and sharing some of the powerful ways in which the work he does as a prison chaplain himself and with other prison chaplains is inspired and informed by this affirmation from Jesus.
In a recent article in The Connexion Magazine he writes that in John 8:12 “Jesus promises life characterised by the very light that shines from his innermost being to all who follow him. What a promise! What a challenge.”
Bob goes on to consider the Biblical context of these words from Jesus: “This was such a radical statement that the pharisees were enraged, saying words to the effect: “Who says so? … Just you? … That’s not a valid testimony.” Two thousand years later we still bear testimony to the truth of Jesus’ words and the folly of the pharisees.
Bob tells us some of the ways these words have been powerfully evident in the work and ministry of prison chaplains with those they serve in prison. Bob, who has been serving in prisons since 1995, says he has repeatedly witnessed the light of life shining from those whom we often see as being consumed by darkness.
I heard a violent offender in a Christian rehabilitative community say to a gentle Christian volunteer “You have helped me to learn how to talk again.”
In an inner-city prison I have seen an habitual self-harmer in tears of joy as he laughed with his group leader who couldn’t play Monopoly without cheating.
On a 12-step recovery course I heard a man in his fifties dogged by addiction all his life say finally “I can’t do this on my own, I really do need help.”
In a prison chapel I have seen a man transformed by the simple act of saying the Lord’s Prayer and realising for the first time what he was saying.
In churches around the country I have seen people who have left prison and found welcome, freedom and acceptance in a way that has led them to safely live life in the fullness for which Jesus died.
Bob concludes his poignant article: “The deepest truth of the Gospels is arguably the light of Jesus, the one whom the artist William Holman Hunt characterises as standing at the closed door, which has no handle and so from a prisoner’s perspective is a like a cell door. When given the chance, Jesus’ light does indeed invade our darkness. I have seen that light transform, bring peace, bring joy, bring hope, bring life. The light of life in the darkest places… what a promise! What a challenge.”
Reproduced with permission from the connexion, the free magazine of the Methodist Church
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(cover photo courtesy of Yeshi Kangrang @ Unsplash)
