LIGHT!

Light… Like grace, Light is a theme that flows through the pages of the Bible from creation to Revelation. The first word that God speaks in creation is Light. And God saw that the light was good. God begins to bring shape and order into the chaos of the beginning through the creation of light. God then spreads those lights across the universe, providing light for day and night. God uses light to guide the people through the wilderness in the pillar of fire. David knew God’s almighty presence as light:

The Lord is my light and my salvation- whom shall I fear? (Psalm 27:1)
The prophet Isaiah declares that the One who will come will be light in the darkness.
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. (Isaiah 9:2)
The prophet Micah declares the power of light even during the exile.
Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light. (Micah 7:8)
In the opening verses of his gospel account, John describes Jesus as light, equating light with life for humanity.
In Him was life, and the life was the light of all. (John 1:4)
John declares not only the existence of light from the beginning moments of creation, but also the power of God’s light in this world.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it! (John 1:5)
Jesus declared himself to be light.
I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. (John 8:12)  
Again, in the closing pages of the Bible, we see God’s promise of light.
The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, For the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. (Revelation 21:23)
Literally, from the dawn of time, God has used light to conquer the darkness of this world both literally and figuratively.  

How desperately we need to hear God’s promise of light conquering darkness as we watch the world struggle all around us. COVID cases rise once more, threatening the lives of our most vulnerable, and leaving our front-line workers exhausted in the battle. School board meetings erupt into anger and even fist fights over mask mandates for children. Lawmakers continue to show their propensity toward protecting their political careers over the needs of their people, dividing our nation for their political gains. Gun violence grips the streets of Philadelphia so that mothers fear for the lives of their little ones. Fires rage in the west as floods devastate the east, and hurricanes threaten the south. And while our nation struggles with the forces of darkness, Taliban troops surge across Afghanistan plunging their people into a depth of darkness we can barely imagine. We debate from the sidelines about whose “failed policy” has caused this humanitarian crisis, while women and their daughters face the horrors of Taliban control. I hold my little granddaughters closer as I pray for those little girls in the midst of that darkness. Again and again, we wonder- where is the light?

God’s Word offers the answer to our question, but we might not like the response. God declares the answer first through the prophet Isaiah,
I will make you a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach the ends of the earth. (Isaiah 49:6)
Arise, shine, for your light has come. (Isaiah 60:1)
Jesus echoes this call:
You are the light of the world…. Let your light so shine before all that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16)
Paul continues the theme in his letter to the Ephesians.
You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light for the fruit of light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth. (Ephesians 5:8-9)  

Do you hear the call? While we trust Jesus to bring light into the darkness, He has called us to be instruments of His light in this world. How we live, how we speak to one another, how we speak about one another, how we serve and give and forgive all are moments when we can shine with the light of Jesus in this world. At the Presidential inauguration, the poet laureate Amanda Gorman again reminded us again of God’s call. She declared:
For there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it.
This little light of mine… I’m going to let it shine!
May we shine with the love of Jesus today!

With you reflecting His light to the world,
Anita