Tag: LIGHT

LET THERE BE LIGHT

The light in our closet went out Saturday night, right as we were getting ready for bed. It is a florescent light and we were out of florescent tubes. I don’t know why but burned out lights really bother me. I used to have nightmares about all the lights in the house going out and being out of light bulbs. Saturday had been a busy day, so we decided to pick up some tubes after church the next day.  That meant on Sunday morning we would be picking out clothes by the light of our cell phones.

         Jerry: “Does this sweater go with these pants?” 

         Me: “Umm, no.  Try again.”

I was still thinking about light (and darkness) when we went to our small group. Our lesson was on the first chapter of Genesis and I was reminded again about the importance of light. Evidently I am not the only one who thinks light is essential, because God created it on the very first day. God, in His orderly fashion of creation knew that light is vital to sustain the earth. Light from the sun warms the earth, and provides energy for plants to grow. Without light, the earth would be an uninhabitable ball of ice. 

One of the main reasons humans need light is to see.  Without light we would be stumbling around in the darkness, trying to avoid obstacles. We would get lost. We could not survive. Sean Dietrich is a writer that I follow and you should too. He is a gifted storyteller and a keen observe of the world. Sean likes to write about a blind dog named Marigold that he rescued. Marigold needs Sean to be her eyes, her light. In fact, experts say Marigold would not have survived without Sean. You can read Marigold’s sad backstory on Sean’s website.  

As we move into the Christmas season, think about God sending His Son to be the Light of the World. God knew that we need light for our physical lives as well as our spiritual lives. Without Jesus we are spiritually blind and dead. When Jesus enters your life you can see! You can see your spiritual condition, how lost you are. When you invite him into your life, He becomes your vision!  You see things in a different way.  And you are no longer dead. The minute you say, “yes” to Christ, you begin your eternal life.

Just as Marigold cannot survive without Sean, we cannot survive without Jesus. Oh we may think we can. In fact, we may think we are doing pretty well without Him.  But our story is not over yet. We can’t see our true condition because we are spiritually blind.

Jerry and I have been moved to pray for our world, for another Great Awakening that we believe is coming. So many are stumbling around in darkness. They are trying to live a life blindly. The Gospel of John declares Jesus as “the true light which gives light to everyone.”  Jesus spoke of Himself as the Light of the world, “whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).

With the coming of Christmas there are so many items on our “to do” lists.  Shopping, wrapping, cleaning, cooking, and entertaining. With that much to do it will be easy to miss the light. If you are reading these words, this is my prayer for you: If you have never received this light named Jesus, I would urge you to take a moment, bow your head and confess your need for Him. Invite Him into your life to light your way. If you would like to know more about the Light, read the first chapter of John. For those of you who already believe, I pray that you slow down and take some time each day to talk with Jesus and thank Him for entering our dark world and changing it forever.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that light was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:1-5 NIV

LIGHT: MORE THAN YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW

We’ve had days and days of cold, dreary weather.  Gray days that drain you of energy and motivation.  At least that is what they are doing to me.  Maybe sometime this summer I will think that I could have spent this time cleaning out closets and organizing photos, but mostly I have just sat in my chair and read.  Where is the sunlight?

 

In the Bible study I attend, we have been studying the book of 1 John.  Maybe it is because I am so light deprived, but I seem to be drawn to John’s description of God as light.  He uses this reference in his epistles as well as the Gospel of John.  “God is light,” (1 John 1:5); “I am the light of the World,” John 8:12.  John also uses light and darkness to contrast truth and lies, good and evil.  On the surface these seem to be pretty elementary truths, but God has been taking me deeper, teaching me about light.

 

I left Bible study the other day thinking about how light can travel, but darkness cannot.  When it is dark in my house, but light outside I can open the shutters and a dark room becomes light.  But the opposite is not true.  If it is dark outside and light inside, opening the shutters will not make the room dark.  It won’t even dilute the light that is there.  So there was my first truth: light can travel into the darkness, but darkness cannot travel to the light.  The rest of that verse in 1 John says that “God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.”  God is pure and holy, and the darkness of sin cannot change or corrupt His holiness. But His light can travel and penetrate the darkness of sin.  Remember, dark cannot travel.  When I was in the darkness of sin I had no way to get to the Light on my own.  The Light had to come to me.  And He did that by dying on a cross, bridging that chasm that separated me from the Light.  The Light came and rescued me from the darkness.

 

I’m told I have a weird brain and I guess it is true.  I became more curious about light and did a little research, and if you are not into a lot of technical stuff you might not want to finish reading.  Whew, there is a LOT of information about light available. It is at once simple and complex, obvious and mysterious.  I will try not to put you to sleep.

 

The world “light” appears over 200 times in the Bible, so I’m thinking God wants us to know about it. I found my second truth right away: Light is necessary to sustain life.  I guess you could say I had a light bulb moment (pun intended), because it hit me right away.  God’s first recorded words were, “Let there be light.”  Duh!  As creator and sustainer of life, He knew light was necessary for creation.  Light provides the energy for life to grow and thrive.  When plants are deprived of light they don’t do well and may even die.  Light, by way of photosynthesis, provides the very oxygen we need to breathe.  Many humans become depressed when they go for days without light.  Light is our source of vitamin D and regulates our circadian rhythms.  When I don’t get enough spiritual light, I notice the difference.  I don’t grow and thrive spiritually.  One resource noted that light increases fertility and eases pain. The light of the Lord makes me a more fertile Christian.  When I am getting my daily dose of Light I am more likely to share with others.  And oh how Light eases the pain of living in a fallen world.  I often wonder how non Believers survive.

 

Third truth: Light helps us see.  There is a good deal of neurobiology involving light and vision, but the simple truth is we cannot see without light.  One of my favorite hymns is Be Thou My Vision.  God as Light helps me see things from His perspective.  The Light helps me see people through His eyes. It reveals dangers that are hidden in the darkness and it keeps me from stumbling, from sinning.  Light directs my feet and keeps me on the right path and takes me in the direction He has for my life.

 

Fourth truth: Light purifies.  Light, especially the ultraviolet component, sterilizes. It kills germs and keeps things free from microbes.  The Light (Jesus) cleanses me from the contamination of sin.  Scripture tells us that if we walk in the Light the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7).

 

Fifth truth: Light allows us to see color.  In darkness we can see no colors because we need light in order to perceive color.  This gets into biophysics, which is a lot of blah, blah, blah to me, but colors have spectra.  Some spectra are absorbed and others are reflected.  The reflected color falls on our eyeballs and sends a signal to the brain, where we perceive color.  I knew there had to be a spiritual application here so I thought about all the colors of God.  If you ever want to do a study on this, a good place to begin is Exodus, where God gives instructions for the tabernacle and the priestly garments.  He instructs the use of specific colors, representing the deity of Christ…gold for His glory and holiness, red for His redeeming blood, purple for His kingship, and silver for redemption.  Once we have the Light (Jesus), we can begin to see God in His fullness.  The Light allows us to see more of who He is.

 

I guess I could go on and on about light, but this is probably enough for now.  If I studied for the rest of my life I could never learn every spiritual truth about light.  That’s because God’s Word is inexhaustible.  When Jesus referred to himself as the Light of the World there was so much truth and power packed into that declaration!  Thank you, Father for sending the Light into our dark world.

 

Light of the world, illumine me.