Darkness Must Surrender To Light

"And the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness did not overtake it."
John 1:5

Darkness cannot overtake light. In the same sense, ignorance cannot overtake knowledge. Once you know something, you cannot UNknow it.

And this is the reason the Gospel is preached. It is to inform mankind of the way of salvation. Once they know, they know forever and no demon in hell, no attack, no one and nothing can take that away from them, because now they know.

Jesus is the light of the world. Darkness must surrender to him.

“I am the light of the world.
He who follows me shall not walk in darkness,
but have the light of life.”
John 8:12

When one is born again, he is brought out of darkness into light and a whole new world, a whole new life, is opened up to him. He will now understand things that never made sense to him before, because the Spirit of the living God dwells within him.

"The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,
and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death
light has dawned.”
Matthew 4:16

But for this to happen there must be a response. The born-again experience does not just happen. The person must be willing to surrender his/her life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and submit to the light, and not all are willing to do that. They make all sorts of excuses to keep themselves away from it.

"He came to his own, and is own did not receive him.
But as many as received him, to them
he gave the right to become children of God,
to those who believe in his name,
who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh,
nor of the will of man, but of God."
John 1:11-13

This is why "religious" people give the Gospel a bad name. Many choose religion over the born-again experience because the cost in truly following Jesus Christ is far from what they are willing to accept. They want rites, and rituals, and tradition - which are all empty, but make them FEEL good and FEEL "religious."

"...having a FORM of godliness but denying the power thereof."
2nd Timothy 3:5

The born-again experience is life changing. When the person surrenders his life to Christ, the Lord takes over and remakes that person. It can be painful because it involves being rid of deception and coming into the truth, and many simply do not want the truth because they innately know it is costly. So they choose the safety of the religion they've grown up with ...and they die in their sins.

"And He said to them, 'You are from beneath; I am from above.
You are of this world; I am not of this world.
Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins;
for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.'”

John 8:23-24

Surrender is a fearful thing, and yes, it IS costly. But if a man is told by a doctor that in order to save his life he must undergo an operation, most would gladly accept the operation knowing that it will preserve their lives. The principle is the same. Mankind needs the operation of the "born-again" experience which will bring him out of darkness into light, and it will change him so drastically that it is aptly called being "born" all over again – not physically, but of the Spirit of God.

"That which is born of the flesh is flesh,
and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.’"

John 3:6-7

Our lives are very short in the light of eternity. Do not fear that which will perhaps involve pain in order to remake you, but surrender your life to Jesus Christ. You will find after awhile that it's a totally amazing process, and you will delight in the choice you made.

AND -- it establishes you as a child of God with an eternal future.

Don't fear it, embrace it. It's the operation you need to preserve your life forever.

See more:
The born-again experience