12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 13 The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.” 14 Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. 16 But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. 17 In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true. 18 I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.” 19 Then they asked him, “Where is your father?” “You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20 He spoke these words while teaching in the temple courts near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come.
We have seen so far that Jesus, as the light of the world, is God’s presence with us and he is our protector. Now we can consider Jesus as our guide through this dark world.
There are a couple of aspects to that. Firstly, as followers of Jesus we know where we are going. In the midst of this world’s struggles, under the guiding hand of our Lord, we are heading toward an inheritance that will never perish, spoil or fade, which is kept in heaven for us (see I Peter 1:3f). In other words, we are passing through this world toward a glorious eternity. It will make a great difference to how we deal with all that happens today if we all remember that!
The other aspect is that Jesus is leading us on each step of the way. It means something to “follow Jesus!” Although we often forget, we are to live always in the light of Jesus. We love us as he has loved us. We bear hardships in response to him carrying all hardship for us. We live with confidence in the struggles of life because we know we belong to him. As we do those things today (or even keep wishing we had) we are being led by Jesus who is the light for our pathway through life. We are truly blessed people who know where we are going and how to get there.
Ask the Lord to make you more conscious him leading you through life.