The Light
Louise Gevers
“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim we have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 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, purifies us from all sin.” 1 John 1:5-7
If we want to display an object, we will put it into a location where it will be in optimum light so that it will be seen and admired, and we may even adjust the lighting to highlight it. When we go to a show or concert, a spotlight is used to make the celebrity visible to everyone. How much more then will God, the Almighty Lord of creation, be immersed in splendid light?
The above verses are clear in answering another aspect of our question: “Who is God?” He is light; in Him there is absolutely no darkness and 1Timothy 6:16 tells us that He “… lives in unapproachable light” which is what we would we have expected if we had been asked to guess. It makes sense that the divine, like majesty, would be highlighted with glorious splendour and not hidden away in darkness. The scripture here also makes it plain that light and righteousness are synonymous, and that those who don’t walk with Him walk in darkness.
If we stop to think about it, almost every connotation of light has something positive. Firstly we see well in the light, but stumble in the dark; people are not afraid of the light, but many adults and children are afraid of the dark; light is very important for life, as without it we would not have warmth nor favourable conditions for things to grow; it even helps to boost our Vitamin C and D levels which makes us healthier, and people are less likely to get depressed in sunshine than they do during long, dark periods. In life, we really need the light. Do we not also need spiritual light?
When God created the heaven and the earth and there was only darkness over the shapeless, nothingness, He created light first. “And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.” (Genesis 1:3-4) So we learn: God created light and He is light. He will never be in darkness, either physically or spiritually. What about us?
In the New Testament, when Paul tells the Corinthian church not to be yoked together with unbelievers, he asks the question “… what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? “(2 Corinthians 6:14)
We have to ask ourselves, “Where am I in the big picture? Am I in the light or in the darkness?” The only way that we can stay in the light is to immerse ourselves in God’s Word every day. “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” (Psalm 119:105)
Prayer: Dear Father, may You enable me to walk in the beauty of Your light and may You shine through my life more and more each day. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.