Articles
Light
Have you ever had just one lightbulb go out? Maybe it is in the bathroom, and now it is difficult to see to get ready. Maybe it is in the kitchen, and now it is difficult to measure your ingredients (if you’re the type of person who measures things). Maybe it is near a chair, and now it is difficult to read a book.
It is really quite amazing how much change can be brought about by just one lightbulb. Sometimes, we do not even realize how dark it is until we replace the one light.
Light and darkness is a biblical theme going all the way back to Genesis 1. “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” (Gen 1:3). Notice that God didn’t say “Let there be darkness.” God said, “Let there be light.” Darkness is the absence of light. If we go back to Genesis 1:2, we see that darkness already existed. It is light which God spoke into the darkness.
The Gospel of John might remind us of Genesis. “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 nothing was made that was made” (John 1:1-3). In the Gospel of
John, God’s creating Word puts on flesh in the person of Jesus. The Word is literally alive. As such, Jesus is referred to as the light which comes into the darkness. “Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life’” (John 8:12).
Jesus came into the world as the living light, but the world is still a dark place. There is darkness because many people do not want the light. Perhaps many do not even realize that they are in darkness, and thus need the light.
We are to be the light in the world. As Jesus was the living light in His time and place, we today, as those who follow Jesus, are to be the living light in our time and place. Jesus said “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14).
One lightbulb can make a world of difference. Let’s make a difference in the world.
