I asked myself, what stuck out in my mind when reading these verses?
What stuck out in my mind is 'light'

It is mentioned two times in this verse.
1. I am the light of the world.
2. Have the light of life.

Observations/Interpretations
I asked myself what comparison/contrasts do I see here?
Two comparisons and contrasts were found:
1. Light v.s Darkness
2. Followers of Jesus v.s Followers of self  

I asked myself what connections do I see here?
1. Followers of Jesus will have Light.
2. Followers of self will have darkness.

I realized Jesus is speaking this verse to the Pharisees and Scribes who originally brought to Jesus a woman accused of adultery. Jesus addresses that situation at hand and now personally addresses them.

Interpretations:
I asked myself why would Jesus refer to Himself as “I am the light of the world” to the Pharisees and Scribes?

It occurred to me that they would be well versed in the law and the Books of the Torah. It is very possible they had head knowledge without practical application of Scripture.

With that head knowledge, they could recall that Jehovah addressed Himself as ‘I AM’ to Moses so Jesus utilizes that!

Now Jesus goes a step further and says that He is the ‘I AM’ that they know of from the Torah. Jesus does not stop there but lets them know, “I AM the Light of the world”

I asked myself what’s the significance of Jesus’ claim to be the light of the world?

To know the significance, first I thought about the functions of light. What came to my mind is visibility, pathway, and direction. This is what Jesus is telling them that He can be in their lives.

They are supposed to know the Torah well. That means they would already know that Jehovah revealed Himself as ‘I AM’ to Moses and the Israelites. Not only that, but during the Israelites escape from Egypt, the Pharisees and Scribes would have known that VISIBILITY, PATHWAY, and DIRECTION played a crucial role for the Israelites deliverance.

This is because the Lord intervened in the Israelites life to give them visibility, pathway, and direction as they fled from Egypt during the night.

Guess in the form of what?

The Lord intervened in a pillar of fire to give them visibility, pathway, and direction so they can have light in the night to travel. This is evidenced by a verse in the Torah that the Pharisees and Scribes should have known:

“By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.” (Exodus 13:21-22, NIV)

The Lord was ahead of them and all they needed to do was to follow. If they did not follow, they would not have had visibility, pathway, or direction. Instead, they would have continued to be lost in the darkness. If that continued, they would have become prisoners again to Pharaoh because they did not follow the light but decided to walk in the darkness and get captured. Being a prisoner of Pharaoh meant being held captive and in bondage.

Now Jesus is making a profound statement to them by claiming, “I AM the Light of the world.”

Jesus wants them to know if they follow Him they will be guided by the light of life but if they do not they will walk in darkness without having visibility, pathway, and direction. Jesus wants them to follow Him as He walks ahead of them giving them the light of life.

They have a choice to follow Jesus and experience the light of life or continue to follow their own ways and eventually find themselves in the darkness of death.

Implications:
I asked myself what are the implications for my own life?
Just as God revealed Himself to the Israelites as ‘I AM’ and later went ahead of them to give them light so they can be delivered from the bondage of slavery from the Egyptians as long as they followed Him, Jesus has revealed Himself to me as ‘I AM’ + the ‘Light of the world’. revealing His characteristics of divinity.

As long as I follow Jesus in this world, walking before Him, I will have visibility, pathway, and direction for He will be leading me in His Light. This means I will not me stuck walking in the darkness, becoming a prisoner to the bondage of sin. 

Majority of the time sin manifests itself in the darkness but Light exposes it.

Jesus wants to be my Light so I can have the light of life when I follow Him and be delivered from darkness in this world. It starts with following Jesus and His ways. Jesus is the captain who gives the visibility, pathway, and direction for my life. That is so exciting to know!

As the stars light up the sky they become really bright as you draw closer to them. The closer you draw near to them, they shine more. Yet, far away too you can see their radiance.

In the same way, as people inspect my life closely, I want them to see that I shine brightly as a light because I choose to live for the Light of the World. And that my light comes from the Light of the World.

Even far away if people hear about me what I want them to know is it is Jesus that lights up my life as I seek Him daily for visibility, pathway, and direction.

If they know about me, I want to use that opportunity to help them know about Jesus Christ so as He works in their lives, they can come to know Him personally as their Lord and personal Savior too!

Light covers over the darkness and helps people find the right pathway. Jesus can be that Light for you too friend.

I ask you now dear friend, how can the Light impact your life?
Dear friend, right now if you are a Pitt student, staff, faculty, or family member of the Pitt community, you must be frustrated, scared, upset, worried, etc because of what is happening on campus with the bomb threats. But, I want to assure you that the Lord Jesus will not leave your side when you know Him. Everyday, I come to work putting my life in the Lord's Hand for I know He is the One to give me visibility, pathway, and direction no matter what is happening around me. He wants to do the same for you. If you are a follower of Christ, you can hold on to the hope of being guided by the One who sees it all and will intervene in His perfect timing.

As you walk these uncertain times, don't walk alone but let the Light of life guide you and lead you for the Light can give you visibility, pathway, and direction. Jesus claims to be that Light for He is the Light of the world and promises that if we follow Him we will not stumble in the darkness but living light will flood our path.

Don't wait for some other time to come to the Light. Come as you are and give Jesus your life to be the true Light in your life. Allow Him to work in you and don't feel you have to take the burden on your own. Jesus is there to take your burden. Yes, He is friend!  Sometimes it happens overnight miraculously and at other times, it is a process but do not give up! The God of the Universe wants to be your Light forever for He is the 'I AM the Light of the world!'. Yes, He is friend! So come as you are and find the Light in your darkness.

For all of us live in darkness without the Light but the Good News is Jesus wants to deliver you from the darkness of the soul to light up your life with His presence. When you walk in His presence giving your life over to Him no matter where you are or where you have been, you will find the visibility, pathway, and direction that has been eluding you. Yes, you will friend for God will be your guide! He is the 'I AM' for you and me. Yes, He is friend!

If the Israelites did not follow the Light that God gave, they would have gone back to be captive to Pharoah. In the same way, if we do not follow the Light of the world, we will be held captive to sin that captivates. I don't want that for you and me.

Whatever captivity you are facing, you do not have to face it on your own in darkness. You can bring it to the Light and the Light will shine in the darkness and the darkness will not be able to extinguish it. This is exciting to know. Yes, friend so come as you are and be illuminated by Jesus Christ in your life. Wait on Him for He is the Hope of Nations.

The best thing Satan would want is to discourage you and make you feel that you are not fit to be in the Kingdom of God, but Jesus came for those who are weak and struggle, not for those who think they are righteous. So hold on to Jesus and you will be holding on to hope! That can happen in your life too friend. Jesus wants to be your Light. He loves you so much and wants to go ahead of you and wants you to follow Him. He wants to deliver you from whatever you are faced with that is making you a prisoner in the darkness. Yes, He does!!! He loves you and offers Himself to you.

Won’t you take the only Light that matters?

Allow the Light of Jesus to permeate your life  and allow Him to be in your life for He wants to! He will bring change and transformation in your life. That is exciting to know!

Ask the Lord Jesus to light the fire in your heart. He will friend, yes He will. He loves you so much. No matter what we go through, He is there even through the trials and tribulations. If you don't know Him, come as you are and let Him help you overcome your sins and set you free by His Light. For He waits for you! Make the prayer below your prayer to the Lord!

"Lord’s Illuminating Guidance Helps Throughout! (L.I.G.H.T)/”How can the L.I.G.H.T impact your life?”

Prayer:
Jesus, it is so exciting to claim your promise for what you have claimed. You are the Light of the world and if we follow you, we will not walk in the darkness but will have the Light of Life! Thank you Jesus for offering your light to me! Jesus I want to have your Light in my life as you go ahead of me so I can have visibility, pathway, and direction in my life. Help me Jesus. Right now I am in darkness and need deliverance from the bondage of sin. I cannot deliver myself without following you for you are the initiator to deliver and I want to follow. So right now, I say I am so sorry for my sins. I repent of my sins and confess of them. Please forgive me and help me to turn from them. Thank you for wanting to be my Light. This means a lot to me. I accept you Jesus into my heart and make my heart your home. Please come in Jesus and Light the darkness of my heart with your blazing light. Light the fire in me, purifying me by your Holy Spirit dwelling in me please Jesus. Thank you so much Jesus and I will live for you and serve you the rest of the days of my life as I accept your cleansing of my sin with your precious cleansing blood. Now I do acknowledge you as my Lord and Personal Savior. Thank you for being my Lord and Personal Savior. Thank you that you have heard my prayers and answered me. Thank you that I belong to you now and you have welcomed me into your Kingdom! In Your Name I Pray Jesus! Amen! Thank you again that I belong to you now and you have become my Light! Amen!

May the Lord Jesus guide you in His love leading you! Amen!