Throughout the Bible in the Old and New Testaments, God is described as light.
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear? (Psalm 27:1)
Now this is the message that we have heard from him and proclaim to you: God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5).
What is light? There are many definitions depending upon perspective, circumstance, and setting. Light has a different meaning to physicists, theologians, horticulturalists, photographers, artists, and architects (among others). It is a natural agent that stimulates sight and makes things visible. It is an expression in the eyes that indicates mood or emotion. It illuminates the darkness and gives energy to creation. It has helped to shape the universe. It is truth. It is life.
Many of the most breakthrough theories on light have come in the last three centuries. It’s fascinating that our modern scientific discoveries of light can add to our theological understanding of God who calls Himself light—illuminating what was written thousands of years ago. Light has a dual nature. It manifests as both waves and particles. It is both energy and a specific, measurable portion. God is spirit and manifested in a particular time in human flesh in Christ.
From age to age, light hasn’t changed. It is a self-propagating wave… eternal. Even the speed of light is a constant. Due to time dilation, as we change our own velocity, time itself changes. Approaching the speed of light, time slows until—at the speed of light—time stops altogether. In a way, if we could become light ourselves, we would enter into eternity—as we seek to do in conforming ourselves to God.
At the founding of the world, God declared, “Let there be light.” In this, a physicist hears, “Let time begin” as light is the foundation for our understanding of time. As God describes Himself as light, it could also be translated as God entering into creation… and He saw that it was good.
Jesus answered him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone (Mark 10:18).
Jesus is truth personified.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
He is the Word of God who laid the foundations of creation.
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 came to be through him,
and without him nothing came to be.
What came to be through him was life,
and this life was the light of the human race;
the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it (John 1:1-5).
He is the light foretold by Isaiah.
Arise! Shine, for your light has come,
the glory of the Lord has dawned upon you.
Though darkness covers the earth,
and thick clouds, the peoples,
Upon you the Lord will dawn,
and over you his glory will be seen.
Nations shall walk by your light,
kings by the radiance of your dawning (Is 60:1-3).
He told us Himself that He is the light of the world.
Jesus spoke to them again, 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).
In our partaking of the divine nature through Baptism, we are also light for the world. We have no light of our own. It is His light that shines through us. As the Moon reflects the Sun to illuminate the darkness, so do all of the saints reflect the light of Christ into the world by loving God and man, serving the Kingdom, and sharing truth and light.
“You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father” (Matt 5:13-16).
What is darkness? It is nothing. It has no form and no reality. It is simply the absence of light. As such, it has no power over light. No amount of darkness can extinguish a single candle. Yet, a single candle can illuminate a whole room. Such is truth. Lies are make-believe. They have no reality, only the disoriented thoughts of demented minds. When confronted with truth, lies are laid bare and defenseless. If all of Heaven and Earth passed away to be reformed, humanity of the future would discover the same truths… but invent new lies.
Our light is made to illuminate the darkness. If we only shine in comfortable settings—surrounded by fellow believers—in Church on Sunday, we are like a candle in the sunlight. It shines but can’t be seen amidst the light of day. Our light was made to illuminate the darkness. We are refreshed in communion with one another to be strengthened for taking the light into the darkness—to where it is least appreciated—but most needed.
The darkness of the world is the world against Christ—where the light is needed most. Jesus, truth-personified, has already conquered the world. We are simply to take the light into the darkness. Those who dwell in darkness may shield their eyes and their minds, but the light will ultimately win.
“I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world” (John 16:33).
May I be a light in the world illuminated by Christ who is light in its fullest realization. May my light shine before men that they may see the good I (try to) do and give glory to God!