My Favorite Verses - Vol V (Feb 17 to Jun 17)
An illustrated collection of brief commentaries on some of the Bible’s most beloved (and some of its least understood) passages, parables, verses & sayings
An illustrated collection of brief commentaries on some of the Bible’s most beloved (and some of its least understood) passages, parables, verses & sayings
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
Thomas 1:77 … The Light within it All<br />
(06/10/20<strong>17</strong>)<br />
“I am the Light that is within everything … I am All; All came from me and All has<br />
returned <strong>to</strong> me. Split a piece of wood and I Am there. Lift up a s<strong>to</strong>ne and you will find<br />
me there as well.” ~ Jesus (Gospel of Thomas 77)<br />
First & foremost, it can be quite enlightening <strong>to</strong> juxtapose this verse from<br />
Thomas with the opening passage of John*; realizing that “the Word” in the latter<br />
passage is not a reference <strong>to</strong> Jesus Christ specifically, but rather the Greek Logos –<br />
a term used at the time <strong>to</strong> refer <strong>to</strong> the Inner Divinity (or the Life Essence or “the<br />
Soul”, or “the Holy Spirit”, or “the Spirit of Truth”, or “the Advocate Within” etc) that<br />
resides within all sentient beings. And when we keep this Truth in mind, the other<br />
statements that Jesus makes about “the Light” become far less arrogant-sounding<br />
(see Matthew 18:3-4 & Matthew 23:12) and far more profound (see Matthew 4:16,<br />
Matthew 5:16, Luke 11:34-35, John 8:12 + John 14:12, John 12:35-37 et al) … Second,<br />
note as well that “the Light is within everything” – the same way as “the Kingdom<br />
of God” is within each of us (see Luke <strong>17</strong>:20-21), the same way God Himself<br />
resides within us (see John 14:20-26), and the same way that the ability <strong>to</strong> choose<br />
Love – the ultimate key <strong>to</strong> any & all Salvation – rests ever within us as well (see<br />
Matthew 7:21-24, Matthew 18:3-4, Matthew 24:12-14, John 13:15-<strong>17</strong> et al) … Third, it<br />
is also interesting <strong>to</strong> juxtapose the phrase “split a piece of wood and I Am there;<br />
lift up a s<strong>to</strong>ne and I Am there as well” with Luke <strong>17</strong>:20-21, where the translation<br />
of the Greek can very well be rendered as “The Kingdom of God is not coming [in<br />
the future] with things that can be observed; nor will they be able <strong>to</strong> say, „Look,<br />
here it is!‟ or „Look, there it is!‟ For,<br />
in fact, the Kingdom of God is<br />
already both within and all around<br />
[the Greek en<strong>to</strong>s, often translated<br />
errantly as “among” or less errantly as<br />
“within” – see Strong‟s #<strong>17</strong>87] you” …<br />
Indeed, while the Light might indeed<br />
be within everything, this Truth<br />
means nothing until our own Light is<br />
set in motion with Love – a Love that<br />
then releases the Light within all<br />
things and all beings nearby.<br />
*see John 1:1-16 – “In the beginning was the Logos, and the Logos was with God, and the Logos<br />
was God. It was in the beginning with God. All things came in<strong>to</strong> being through the Logos, and<br />
without it not one thing came in<strong>to</strong> being. What has come in<strong>to</strong> being through the Logos was life,<br />
and the life was the light of all people … This true light, which lights up everyone, was coming<br />
in<strong>to</strong> the world … Indeed, from the Logos’ fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.”<br />
160