“I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh when no man can work.”
John 9:4 (KJV)
God has given us time to work and time to rest. He carefully allocated 12 hours for the day and 12 hours for the night. One will realise that immediately it becomes dark, and the body naturally becomes sluggish. Usually, after a hard day’s work, anything intended to be done is done quite slowly or ineffectively compared to it being done during the day.
Similarly, when working late at night, it is normal to feel drained. People on night shifts are usually incapable of continuing without any breaks. It is clear from the scenarios drawn above that Jesus’ use of night is very intentional, and even though He uses it as a metaphor, the message in the statement, “Night is coming when no one can work,” is clear. A time is coming in the life of every man. At that point, we can do nothing to aid God’s work anymore, and judgment awaits.
The night Jesus spoke about
The scripture, John 9:4, tells us that we have been sent to work on behalf of Him who sent us. Furthermore, the work that we have been sent to do is work that can only be done when it is day.
We can consider the first scenario that qualifies as night to be old age. Old age is inevitable, as night is. When we’re young, we have the energy and capacity to do so much for God. However, as we grow older, old age limits our ability to do so. That means while we have our youth, we must use the time on earth to do God’s work because when the time for us to be feeble and weak arrives, we cannot do anything more to help the work of God.
The Bible even admonishes us in Ecclesiastes 12:1 to serve God in the days of our youth because when we grow old and weary, we will say we have no pleasure in them. Thus, if you did not spend your youth well to serve God diligently, your life would be considered a waste because, in old age, there is very little you can do to make up for it. That is the time to go out to preach the word, to study the word intensively and fast seriously, since in old age, factors like health may restrict you.
Your life on Earth is temporary
Additionally, when Christ spoke, He always took heed to remind us that the earth we live on is temporal. Therefore, there would be a time when everything would cease to exist. In this scenario, He does the same to tell the disciples that there is a time when everything shall cease where even He cannot work. As long as He is in the world, He is the light of the world and must show his light to those living in darkness.
Similarly, as Christians of this present day, we must realise the gravity of the situation we find ourselves in as the final day approaches. Thus, since the Spirit of Christ lives in us (see Romans 8:9), we must take hold of today to strive to be the light, to show people out of darkness.
John 8:12 tells us that Jesus is the light of the world. And when we follow Him, we shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life. In light of this, 1 Thessalonians 5:5 calls us children of the light. We, therefore, must be the light to guide others from darkness into the light of life.
The work
As stated earlier, the work that God has sent us to do is work that can only be done when it is day. If no one, including Jesus Himself, can work at night, obviously, we have to keep doing the work of God’s kingdom every day while we can. That is because there will be a time when that work cannot be done. So, while we can, we must not waste the time already at our disposal.
It is imperative, therefore, that all believers who have been led to read this article begin to serve the Lord with all diligence and gladness. We must also make efforts to speak to other people about Christ and constantly intercede on their behalf through prayers. That is all to bring them out of their darkness so they walk in the light like we do.
In summary, John 9:4 is an urgent call for us Christians to share God’s light and goodness with others while we have the opportunity, as we will not always be able to do so. It also calls for us to be diligent and sincere about serving God. Only then will the time and energy we have will be wisely used to serve God.
