Category: Light

For two decades Bill and I have lived in Arizona, and we have fallen in love with the local desert. Nature trails around here are usually very uneven. Hikers keep their eyes glued to the ground to avoid tripping and falling. We have both done our fair share of hiking; I particularly like the early morning hikes.

In Arizona it gets light outside long before the Sun actually shows up on the horizon. The early light paints the awakening desert in pastel colors. Hiking before the Sun is up is magical, but can be a bit hazardous. On one occasion I forgot to bring my flashlight, BIG mistake! As a result, I stumbled more than I walked. Thankfully, the Sun rose in time before I got seriously hurt. Wilderness walks are unforgiving if we are not properly equipped.

We don’t need to be hikers to be able to relate to the wilderness experience. Life can resemble a wilderness walk, metaphorically speaking. Randy Newman’s song “It’s a jungle out there!” is a humorous way of putting it. God helps us through that jungle. The Light of the World has a way of seeing us through confusing times.

During the Christmas season it’s a custom in North America to decorate our homes, yards and streets with a myriad of Christmas lights; I believe this is one way of depicting Jesus bringing God’s Light into the world.

Jesus will change our fears and tears into hope and radiant joy, much like the sun shining through the drizzling rain will create a beautiful rainbow. The Lord dips our life in color. Walking with Him, we have the Light that leads to life.

Life’s path is no eight-lane freeway. It’s more of a bumpy hiking trail. Plugging along, we always tread on unexplored ground. Nobody knows what to expect around the next corner.

Life’s pathway is a long journey. We better travel light or we’ll get stuck somewhere with our heavy load. Unburdened is the way to go.

Life is not a burden. Life is a precious gift. We realize that in moments when we hold a newborn baby. However, the thrill of being alive clearly wears off when we are in pain. In light of tragic circumstances we may even lose our desire to be alive. Especially when we feel lost in the dark, we are in desperate need of God’s light.

The light of God is different from any other light source we know. Regular light sources simply won’t hold up. Batteries go low; a camp fire won’t burn unless it’s fed; a candle will flicker and die once it has burnt through the candle wick. God’s eternal flame, however, burns independently without being fed. His light is always shining, which is why we fare a lot better in His presence. Close to the Lord, we are able to see through the dark. Leaning on Him, it is so much easier navigating through life’s highs and lows.

Finding God is as straight forward as asking and receiving. God will reveal Himself when we seek Him out. Moses encouraged the Israelites with these words (Deuteronomy 4:29):

“But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

Even though God is hidden from the naked eye He is very hard to miss. In fact, we have to be determined to ignore Him to not notice the brilliant Light that outshines the stars, the Moon and the Sun. Eventually, somewhere along life’s bumpy road, we will run into Him. Heaven’s door opens when we knock. God wants to be found.

If Jesus took a group snapshot of Him and His followers and would post this on social media you could see some sort of a family resemblance.  Unfortunately, there were no cameras back then, though in the Bible we are running into a series of descriptive snapshots.  Those little nuggets can also bring out family resemblance – maybe more so than a photograph could do.

Take for instance Jesus’ descriptive selfie “I am the Light of the World” and compare this to Jesus’ descriptive snapshot of His followers in Matthew’s gospel: “You are the light of the world”. Family resemblance! No doubt about that. Jesus is the light, so are God’s children.

At the dawn of creation, God first created light (Genesis 1:2-5):

“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.

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

Four little words were spoken: ‘Let there be light’, and life returned to a formless, empty, and dark planet as a result. This goes to show that even in the most dire of circumstances God can come through for us.  Never give up hope! God is closer to us than we might think.

A small flame can be seen from far away. It’s very common to hide in the dark, yet so much easier to be spotted in the light. Have you ever tried to conceal a flashlight in a dark room? Good luck with that!  Light cannot be hidden as Jesus preached to the crowds in His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:15-16):

“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.”

Lamps are installed under a ceiling, not under a table, to light up an entire room.  What purpose is there in spreading light under a table – to find dust on the floor? Asking us to go and make disciples of all nations, Jesus invites us to come out from under a table, or from wherever else we’re hiding, to spread His goodness wherever we go.

If God’s light is in your heart, don’t be surprised when God shows you around. His love is advertised through the way you live your life. His love shines through you because His Light does not and will not hide.

“Yeshua, Light of the World, whoever follows You, will not walk in the dark but will have the light of life. Light of the World by Bill & Evelyn Snyder

Picture yourself in a dark room, and suddenly someone shines a flashlight on you. Wouldn’t you be blinded by the light? Conversely, if you were the one holding the flashlight, you could see what’s going on in the dark.

Similarly, the spiritual Light of the world shines through the darkness. God can see through anything; nothing is hidden from Him. God’s understanding penetrates the depths of hell.  Using many word pictures, Psalm 139 describes God’s far-reaching radius (Psalm 139:7-12):

⁷ Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.
¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
    and the light become night around me,”
¹² even the darkness will not be dark to you;
    the night will shine like the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.

Isn’t it hard to see Jesus in a dark and troubled world? A lot of people didn’t recognize the Son of God when He was right there, in plain view, walking the streets of Jerusalem. And who could blame them? Still today people have problems recognizing Jesus. It’s the same phenomenon as gazing into a flashlight while being trapped in the dark. And yet, the good news is that we don’t need to understand God’s love to receive it. All we need is an open heart, and we will see the Light.

Walking in the light – what does it mean? Answers to this question range from doing what is right at any time (especially when no one is looking) to following the example of Christ. Does this mean we are supposed to be nice? Is God nice? And what about God’s Son – Was Jesus a nice guy when He cleared the Jerusalem temple and kicked the money changers out? The Bible doesn’t state that God is nice, but instead says that God is love.

Looking at the originator of love, God Himself, we can appreciate that His love comes in different shades. How about the shade of green for jealous love? In the book of Exodus we read about a jealous God (Exodus 34:14):

“Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”

Jealousy is a hot burning flame that can undermine and destroy relationships, but it is also a derivative of love. God is jealous of His children when they ignore Him and give their full attention to something or someone else. If they didn’t matter to Him He wouldn’t be jealous. His jealousy is a declaration of love.

Another shade of love is red – red as in seeing red: angry love. God spoke through Prophet Isaiah in an incident where He was incensed about His greedy children and said: (Isaiah 57:17):

“I was enraged by their sinful greed; I punished them, and hid my face in anger, yet they kept on in their willful ways.”

Greed walks all over people to get what it wants. God hates it when we abuse the helpless. He cares – that is why He gets angry and so should we if we witness abuse in front of our doorsteps. There is a fine line between temper and anger. God’s anger ushers in change as opposed to violent temper which only leaves destruction in its wake.

While God’s anger promotes change His mercies bring about new beginnings (Lamentations 3:22-23):

“It is through the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness.” *King James Version

It is one of the Lord’s finest features that He sees hope when all hope is gone. He believes in us when others won’t. During His ministry on earth Jesus was challenged many times to condemn people caught in the act, but He didn’t. He said that His mission is not to condemn people but to restore them to His Father. His mercies are new every morning, which is why I imagine the shades of God’s mercies to be the colors of dawn.

God loves with passion and so do His children. Walking in His love they walk in the light of the Lord.