And God said. “Let there be light.” God spoke light into being! He created the heavens and the earth, seemingly out of nothing, and then as He was hovering over the expanse, He decided to create light. Now we think electricity is pretty cool, and we know that we can easily obtain light from a lamp, candle or flashlight. But to speak light into existence. Now that is something out of this world. It’s definitely beyond our comprehension or capabilities. And yet it was God’s first act of creation.
These were my musings one morning as I walked the pathway with sunlight pouring through the bare forest canopy onto my face and shoulders. Winter light is more muted. But when the sun is out, it seems more welcome just because the winter light is less abundant. Sunlight dapples lovely patterns across my path in every season.
Looking up, the sunlight highlighted the white bark of a huge sycamore.
One of the gifts that sunlight brings is a focus on something in the forest that we might not otherwise see. Mushrooms growing out of the side of a tree pick up light and glisten like patent leather. Translucent filaments of a milkweed seed reflect a rainbow of colors.
A single ray can light up a spring blossoms. Bright sunlight makes water sparkle like diamonds. Even in winter, light falling on the icy surfaces changes the water’s reflection
After God spoke light into being, He separated it from the darkness. Now most of us are not creatures of the dark, except perhaps to look at the moon or the constellations. Last week I spoke about the future time when the Lord will dwell with us. Right now, we have the Holy Spirit as a deposit within us. But throughout eternity, God will keep company with us similar to when He walked in the garden with Adam and Eve and Jesus kept company with His disciples. We won’t need electricity; He will be our light.
Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. He who believes in me will have everlasting life.” He purposely connected light with life. Both are gifts from God. We take our life from the breath that God first blew into Adam and Eve. Every creature and plant that God created is infused with life. Next time you are looking at the petals of a flower, notice how they shimmer with light and life. Once that flower is picked that shimmer fades. Or just take a good look at your skin the next time you are outside. It shines with the same luminescent life. That light departs when animals and plants die. I really believe that the light you see is sourced from the light that brings life. He endowed us with it.
As Christians, we carry the light of Jesus within us to share with the world. That means that we not only carry the life essence within, but also the actual light of God. That deposit makes us light in a dark world that does not know or enjoy Him. You carry that light. Such is the amazing, bounteous gift of God.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.*
John 1:2-4 NIV
*(Italics mine)
