Light To See By 01
Making decisions in the dark can lead to some regrettable consequences. Back in the days before electricity, a tightfisted old farmer was taking his hired man to task for carrying a lighted lantern when he went to call on his best girl. "Why," he exclaimed, "when I went a-courtin' I never carried one of them things. I always went in the dark." "Yes," the hired man said wryly," and look what you got!" -Source Unknown [1]
Light is essential to seeing what you've got, especially in the dark
Upon entering a pitch black room, no one ever uttered, "Hey! Who turned up the darkness?" The common response is "Who turned out the lights?" Darkness is fundamentally the absence of light. Any light, even a small candle or lamp can illuminate a dark area. Where you have light, darkness flees; finding cover under and behind material objects such as tables and chairs. That light always dominates or pushes out darkness is common knowledge, experiential and inherent.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.
Genesis 1:1-4
Genesis reveals the first recorded words of God: "Let there be light. . . ." Upon a backdrop of darkness, God spoke this. In doing so, God created a contrast, a duality, whereby we have the experience of comparison. It was the shedding of light upon darkness, and displacing that darkness that God created a space or canvas upon which bring about life. One could see from these opening passages that light is a precursor to life.
Dividing the light from darkness, God separated them; probably so the darkness was not entirely obliterated, he controlled the separation and maintained the parameters of both.
Can you see what God did? He held the two in contrast for interplay and interaction. This is a theme throughout the Bible: God shedding light unto or into darkness. A status of darkness alone enveloping the formless and void earth was not sufficient for life's development. Full dominance by darkness or light produces imbalance. Full darkness is synonymous with evil and utter destruction. Full light is synonymous with the glory and dwelling place of God (cf. 1 Tim 6:15-16; 1 John 1:5; 3:1-3). Can you see what God did? For us to know him, having an experience with him, to be able to compare and contrast him with what is not him, he created light in darkness.
Making himself known by light in this way, he not only combats and ultimately defeats the darkness but also gives us a personal experience of him. This shows the essential nature of light: revealing and displaying.
Without God's light, we cannot see. Whether it be our present condition physically or spiritually, we need God's light. It is essential to the production of life.
