Light

Each of our three children made a trip to Camp Saint Christopher on Seabrook Island for the Barrier Island program during 5th grade. My husband and I took turns chaperoning these trips; he with our two boys and I with our girl. Many things stand out in my memory about my year, but the Nighttime Nature Walk along a deep-woods trail made the biggest impression on me.

Having grown up in the countryside, I thought I was familiar with darkness, but away from the city lights and under dense tree cover, the darkness was palpable! Camp counselors held their flashlights along the trail before stopping our group of nearly one hundred and having us stand in line close enough to touch the person ahead of us on the shoulder. With little warning, the lights were shut off and we stood in total and complete darkness for five minutes waiting for our eyes to adjust. They never did. I couldn’t see my own hand in front of my face, much less whatever was making the rustling noise nearby. My sense of fear heightened the longer the darkness lingered. Only when the counselor nearest me reignited her light did I breathe deeply again. The smallest amount of light surrounding me gave such a sense of security.

“Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.””

John 8:12 NLT

https://www.bible.com/116/jhn.8.12.nlt

“I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark.”

John 12:46 NLT

https://www.bible.com/116/jhn.12.46.nlt

“Jesus replied, “There are twelve hours of daylight every day. During the day people can walk safely. They can see because they have the light of this world. But at night there is danger of stumbling because they have no light.””

John 11:9-10 NLT

https://www.bible.com/116/jhn.11.9-10.nlt

The light of this world, the sun, moon, and stars, were created by God to mark our days and seasons. We glide around the sun in our orbit at precisely the right distance to maintain life. During summer, we enjoy long days here in the southern United States with the sun rising before 6:00 am and setting after 9:00 pm, and the sunsets are spectacular! The lake lined with trees behind our house frames each evening’s masterpiece beautifully. When the sun goes down, we turn on the electric lights until bedtime and still, our home is sprinkled with nightlights. Think of the inconvenience of a power outage predawn when you need to prepare for the day ahead. We all count on the light!

“This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.”

1 John 1:5-7 NLT

https://www.bible.com/116/1jn.1.5-7.nlt

In fact, God’s heavenly home does not know shadow. According to the Revelation of Jesus Christ as recorded by the apostle John, the glory of God and the Lamb illuminate the heavenly city and there is a security there that we have never known…but we can!

“And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light. The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the world will enter the city in all their glory. Its gates will never be closed at the end of day because there is no night there.”

Revelation 21:23-25 NLT

https://www.bible.com/116/rev.21.23-25.nlt

The Psalmist foretold Christ’s coming salvation and provision of the Holy Spirit for the children of God, while the prophet, Isaiah, predicted Messiah’s birth. All this is part of God’s plan to redeem creation and draw us back to Himself. Watch the growing things in your corner of the world as they instinctively turn toward the life-giving light and learn from their example.

“For you have rescued me from death; you have kept my feet from slipping. So now I can walk in your presence, O God, in your life-giving light.”

Psalms 56:13 NLT

https://www.bible.com/116/psa.56.13.nlt

“The people who walk in darkness (Greek: “a land where death casts its shadow”) will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.”

Isaiah 9:2 NLT

https://www.bible.com/116/isa.9.2.nlt

We live in a land of deep darkness. Shadows abound even in broad daylight. We’ve learned the areas to avoid and we caution our children to take care when traveling around town or around the globe. There is a world that thrives in darkness that we should avoid at all cost! Just like the flashlights of the guides at Barrier Island illuminated our path, so God gives us His Word to guide us as we traverse this fallen world. Greater still, He sent His Living, Breathing Word, Jesus, to guide us back to Him!

“Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.”

Psalms 119:105 NLT

https://www.bible.com/116/psa.119.105.nlt

“Jesus replied, “My light will shine for you just a little longer. Walk in the light while you can, so the darkness will not overtake you. Those who walk in the darkness cannot see where they are going. Put your trust in the light while there is still time; then you will become children of the light.”

John 12:35-36 NLT

https://www.bible.com/116/jhn.12.35-36.nlt

We cannot hide in shadow from the One who is the Light. The Psalmist knew this and in our hearts, we sense the truth of it as well. There are clues in our emotions, a sense of emptiness or unrest with which we are ill at ease. We can become numb to these prompts if we ignore them long enough but they were given to us as checks in our spirits to keep us in the light.

“I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night— but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you.”

Psalms 139:11-12 NLT

https://www.bible.com/116/psa.139.11-12.nlt

“If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is still living in darkness. Anyone who loves a fellow believer is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble. But anyone who hates a fellow believer is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness.”

1 John 2:9-11 NLT

https://www.bible.com/116/1jn.2.9-11.nlt

Jesus, the Light of the world, gave us a directive before returning to His heavenly home until the appointed time of His return. His commission to His children is to go into all the world telling the good news that He is alive and He is coming again. He has made every provision for us to be with Him for eternity through His death and resurrection! Now His light can be seen in us.

““You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”

Matthew 5:14-16 NLT

https://www.bible.com/116/mat.5.14-16.nlt

“We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work. But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.””

John 9:4-5 NLT

https://www.bible.com/116/jhn.9.4-5.nlt

The apostle, Paul, prayed for the hearts of those in the church to be flooded with light, instilling a confident hope in Christ. This is my prayer for myself, for my children, my family, and friends, and for you.

“I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.

I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.”

Ephesians 1:16-18 NLT

https://www.bible.com/116/eph.1.16-18.nlt

“For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true. Carefully determine what pleases the Lord.

Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them, for the light makes everything visible.

This is why it is said, “Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light.””

Ephesians 5:8-14 NLT

https://www.bible.com/116/eph.5.8-14.nlt

“But you aren’t in the dark about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won’t be surprised when the day of the Lord comes like a thief.

For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night. So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded.

Night is the time when people sleep and drinkers get drunk. But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation.”

1 Thessalonians 5:4-8 NLT

https://www.bible.com/116/1th.5.4-8.nlt

For “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.”

John 1:5 NLT

https://www.bible.com/116/jhn.1.5.nlt