The Light of Life

Isn't it brilliant that when God set to work creating life on Earth, He started with light!

"The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness." (Genesis 1)

Everything God spoke into existence He called good, because it was; it was perfect and complex. Notice in the above scripture, though, God did not call the darkness good. 

Darkness:

•devoid or partially devoid of light : not receiving, reflecting, transmitting, or radiating light. 

•arising from or showing evil traits or desires (Merriam Webster Dictionary)

The Earth was without form and void.

Without form (tohuw: to lie waste, a desolation)

Void (bohuw: empty)

*Hebrew words in parenthesis

God knew that all He created on Earth needed light in order to live and grow.

When darkness covered the Earth it was an empty, desolate waste land.

Then God spoke! 

Light, radiant, bright, and colorful, spread over the Earth.

"And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good." (Genesis 1)

By day, we have the sun.

Think about all the things sunlight does.

These are just a few...

It gives the warmth and light necessary for growth of vegetation plants and fruit bearing trees; 

the world is clothed in a vast array of beautiful colors through it's reflection; 

and it causes the human body to convert Vitamin D stores in the skin to a usable form. 

Amazing!!

By night, we have the moon and the stars. 

These lights have been used for centuries, as calendars and markers for changing seasons and used to guide men like a compass.

These lights have been and are noticed by all. They are priceless, yet free, for all to admire and contemplate their Maker and the observer's place in the vast expanse.

God provided the perfect light needed by all life on Earth and these lights were always and forever meant to point us to Him. 

But even with these great lights, after the fall of Adam and Eve, there was a great darkness lurking deep within men's hearts. It seeped out of men's hearts through evil actions and words. It was a darkness that the sun, moon, and stars could not luminate.

This darkness was and still is the fallen state of men, the depravity of the heart, and mens' bondage to sin.

Once again God saw the empty and desolate waste land of mens' hearts and spoke of His promise to send Jesus, the True and Better Light.

How good He is! He did not leave the Earth without life and He did not leave mankind without the Way to Life.

"for you (John the Baptist) will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” Luke 1:76-79

(Zechariah, John the Baptist's father, was prophesying, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, about the message John would proclaim about Jesus) 

We were sitting in darkness, stuck in the desolation of our own depravity, dead in our bondage to sin, and bound for eternal destruction, when God gave us the most glorious, radiant, luminous Sunrise!

He gave us Jesus, the Light of Life! Light is what saves us from darkness and leads us into the way of peace.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." 

John 1:1-5

Life (zoe:of the absolute fullness of life, both essential and ethical, which belongs to God)

Overcome (katalambano: to seize, to lay hold of to make one's own)  

*Greek words in parenthesis

Jesus, the One through which all things were created, is the Light that provides absolute fullness of life and life essential.

Darkness cannot lay hold of Light because He is greater!

Light always overcomes darkness!

"“Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness." John 12:44-46

Remain (peripateo: to make one's way)

Jesus is beckoning us to believe in Him.

When we believe in Him, we no longer have to struggle, blindly, making our own way in darkness; we no longer have to trudge along, groping in the dark under the heavy yoke of sin.

"Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”" John 8:12

Jesus is beckoning us to follow Him. 

When we follow Light, He leads us to life everlasting and is our sustaining life along the way.

"For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us." 2 Corinthians 4:6

Light has shone in our hearts giving us the knowledge of the glory of God IN Jesus Christ. 

Light shines, bearing a gift: to know and be known by our Creator!

Jesus is the glorious treasure inside of us that shines brightly in this dark world, not to bring glory to ourselves, but to point others to the power of God; the One who overcomes darkness, breaks the chains of sin, and sets the captives of darkness free!

When we believe in Jesus, He shines in our hearts, waking us to life. His light exposes the areas of our life that our broken and lifeless because of sin and His light begins to produce healing and growth.

"for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true)" 

"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:7-9

I see two things in these verses:

1. Light always points us to what is good, right, and true. His Light produces good growth in our lives.

2. Light exposes sin in our hearts. When He exposes sin and we confess, He forgives us AND washes us clean from all unrighteousness. How wonderful He is!

When we were living in darkness, we knew nothing else. 

We might have thought, "even if I wanted to live differently, I don't know how", or we might have thought our lives were really good and we had everything we wanted.

BUT when Light shone in our lives...

when we heard and believed the glorious Good News... 

Our eyes were opened and we saw how evil and unsatisfying the darkness was and how good and fulfilling Light is! 

Jesus is the Light and He is EVERYTHING we need!

As children of Light, it is our privelge to bask in Light! What does that mean? 

It is our joy to abide in Jesus, to remain in the Light and allow Him to nourish us and sustain us. 

We get to read the illuminating Word of God and draw near to a loving Father who forgives us and corrects us.

As children of Light, we are called to reflect Light to a world filled with darkness. We are called to reflect God's love, kindness, goodness, generosity, forgiveness, and Truth and ultimately point others to Jesus, The Light of the world.

May Light continue His work in our lives so we shine brighter, reflecting our good God in this dark and needy world... 

Blessings,

Amy