Where is the light or the darkness in a person? They are inside his spirit. The light symbolizes life, truth, water of life, sight, freedom and the recognition of the Shepherd's voice. In contrast, darkness stands for death, inexistence, lies, separation from the source of life, blindness and captivity.
The source of life lies in God. In order to experience it, we must receive it through our thinking, i.e. through trust and faith in our spirit. If this does not happen, life remains outside of us. The person who is free in spirit lives in accordance with God's guidance. He leaves things that are beyond his control (such as death) with God and does not try to control them. Those who live in darkness and believe themselves to be God lose their source of life and love with the death of a loved one. This leads to self-destruction and physical illness. But true life consists in the freedom of the spirit.
The man born blind in John 9 symbolizes the spiritual blindness of all people at birth. Jesus came to bring light to the spiritually blind: “I have come into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see may see and those who see may become blind.” Blindness means death. Seeing, on the other hand, stands for life and the knowledge of truth. Christians often believe that they are already in possession of the light. The more firmly this belief is anchored, the more difficult it becomes for them to gain new insights. People who think they know everything are often incapable of learning and thus remain in a state of death.
In John 7, verses 37-38, the water of life is mentioned - a symbol of love. This love does not simply come to us, it must be received through faith. Love and life are synonymous, because only in love do we find real life, just as in truth. Thus it says: “The truth will set you free” (John 8:32). The realization that we are children of God is the solution for our liberation. In the ninth part of the series “Themes in the Gospel of John”, we will explore these topics in detail.