“And the light shines in the darkness, and
the darkness did not comprehend it” – John 1:5
Light, what is it? Light is a
form of energy that we can see. Light travels fast. NASA indicates, “Light travels at a constant,
finite speed of 186,000 mi/sec. A traveler, moving at the speed of light, would
circum-navigate the equator approximately 7.5 times in one second. By
comparison, a traveler in a jet aircraft, moving at a ground speed of 500 mph,
would cross the continental U.S. once in 4 hours.”[1]
Light can bounce. It can be passed through cables. It can be divided into a
spectrum of colors. When focused with a laser it can become a powerful force.
Interesting facts, but the
Apostle John wasn’t thinking of any of these when he used “light.” The Apostle
John was inspired to use light to define the nature of God:
·
1 John
1:5-7 - This is the message which we have heard from Him
and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6
If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do
not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in
the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ
His Son cleanses us from all sin.
“God is light.” That is the essence of what John is trying to
communicate with the metaphor of light. That which associated with God is
illustrated with light. God is holy, just, true, faithful and all of these
things are associated therefore with light.
John used light in contrast with
darkness to illustrate truth about good and evil. The word “light” in the Bible
occurs 263 times in 228 verses. For instance, while there apparently remains a
light of belief in our country, that light is growing dimmer. Truly, “And the light shines in darkness, and the
darkness did not comprehend it” (John 1:5).
A majority of Americans still
believe in God, but the numbers are decreasing. Darkness is increasing. A
recent Cyber Cast News article
entitled Poll: Americans’ Belief in God
is Strong – But Declining by Susan Jones (12.17.13) [2]provided
the following statistics:
·
74% of Americans believe in God – down from 82%
in previous years.
·
72% believe in miracles – down from 79% in 2005
·
68% believe in heaven – down from 75%
·
68% believe Jesus is God or Son of God – down
from 72%
·
65% believe in the resurrection of Jesus = down
from 70%
·
64% believe in survival of the soul after death
– down from 69%
·
58% believe in the devil and hell – down from
62%
·
57% believe in the Virgin Birth – down from 60%
·
54% believe absolutely there is a God – down
from 66% in 2003
·
47% believe in Darwin’s Theory of Evolution – up
from 42%
·
42% of Americans believe in ghosts (especially
younger people)
·
36% believe in Creationism, . . . and UFOs
·
29% believe in Astrology
·
26% believe in witches
·
24% believe in reincarnation – i.e. that they
were once another person
The darkness is growing.
But Christmas is a time of
lights. We drive through neighborhoods at night and enjoy the colored lights of
Christmas decorations. People are very imaginative with lights –
Like Diana Dew, [who created] dresses that switch on and off. By using pliable plastic lamps
sewn into the clothes in segments and connected to a rechargeable battery pack
worn on the hip, she has been able to produce mini-dresses with throbbing
hearts and pulsating belly stars, as well as pants with flashing vertical side
seams and horizontal bands that march up and down the legs in luminous
sequence. “They’re hyperdelic trans-sensory experiences,” says Diana.
Potentiometers on the battery pack allow the wearer to produce from one to
twelve flashes per second.
The batteries themselves can be
recharged by being plugged in, just like an electric toothbrush, and at full
strength are good for five hours of flashing. “If a girl wants to flash for ten
hours, she’ll have to get a bigger battery,” says Diana. She also is busy
expanding the Dew line to include wide neckties (“flashiest ever”), a dress
that spells out words, and even one that is wired to play music. There is
always the chance, of course that one of her hyperdelic transsensory minis
might break down. No problem. Says Diana: “Just take it to the nearest radio-TV
repair shop.” [3]
The dark world just doesn’t get
God’s light. The word “comprehend”
(Greek katalambano) means to take eagerly, possess, seize, apprehend,
find, perceive; the world is in darkness; it just doesn’t get the light of
Jesus. The world just doesn’t comprehend the light of God. It toys with light,
but it does not comprehend the light of Jesus.
The world tries to imitate and
manufacture light –
·
The world's longest lasting light bulb is the Centennial Light located
at 4550 East Avenue, Livermore,
California. It is maintained by the Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department. The fire
department claims that the bulb is at least 110 years old and has only been
turned off a handful of times. The bulb has been noted by The
Guinness Book of World Records, Ripley's Believe It or Not!, and General Electric as
being the world's longest-lasting light bulb.[4]
·
A daily paper contained an item telling that General Electric has
perfected a light bulb which had a life expectancy of a million hours! Imagine
a bulb that will burn eight hours a day, every day for over 342 years, or until
the year 2295! It is estimated that this bulb will use $1,640 worth of
electricity in the million hours, and give out 286,000,000 lumens, or units of
light. Think of the convenience of having a light bulb that will last over 342
years! [5]
But 110 years or 342 years of
light from a bulb is nothing compared to the eternal light of Jesus. The world
just doesn’t comprehend the light of God.
People reject the light of Jesus
and try to work by their own light –
One of the great 19th-century
French painters, Anne-Louis Girodet, worked best at night. To provide for
light, he wore a wide-brim hat and positioned candles around the brim. Forty
candles was the maximum illumination he needed. He also would base his fees on
the number of candles used during his work. [6]
That’s a good example of the dim
light humanity lives by when they do not comprehend the light of Jesus.
Any light of this world is dark
compared to the light of Jesus -
The distance from our galaxy to
the next nearest one is nearly 1,500,000 light years. That is the distance
light will travel in one-and-a-half million years going 186,000 miles each
second.
This distance is so great that if
every man, woman and child in the United States had a library of 65,000
volumes, and we collect every book in all these libraries, and then started on
this journey of 1,500,000 light years, and decided to place one letter from one
of the books on each mile (thus, if “The” was the first word in the first book,
we would put “T” on the first mile, “h” on the second mile, and “e” on the
third mile; then leave a mile blank without a letter and start the next word in
the same manner, etc. ), before we complete the journey, we will use up every
letter in every book of every one of the libraries and have to call for more.
And that is only the distance to our nearest galaxy. The total known universe
is about 8 to 10 billion light years long. [7]
As vast and as
far away as that is, it pales in comparison to the distance humanity, on it’s
own, is from comprehending the light of Jesus.
Jesus is the
“light of the world” (John 8:12; 9:5). But He also calls us to be the “light of
the world” (Mat. 5:14). Like the moon we are to reflect His light in a dark
world.
What is John trying to communicate or illustrate
with “light”? When we look at how he uses “light” the context connects light with –
·
Light is associated with the life God gives us; our existence; our
consciousness of God; our conscience (John 1:4).
·
Light is opposite to darkness – in light we see where to go; in
darkness we are lost. In light we avoid banging into things; in darkness we
bang into things and hurt ourselves. In light we gain direction; in darkness we
are directionless (John 1:5).
·
Light is what we are to witness of the Light (John 1:7-8).
·
Light is associated with God’s truth (John 1:9; 3:21).
·
How we respond to God’s light determines whether or not we are
condemned by God (John 3:19).
·
Light is the opposite of practicing evil (John 3:20)
·
Light is found by walking with Jesus in obedience to Him (John 8:12).
·
Jesus is the light of the world (John 9:5).
·
Light is defined as “the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ” (2
Cor. 4:4-6).
·
Light exposer of darkness (Eph. 5:13).
·
Light is walking in the light as Jesus is in the light leads to
fellowship with God and other believers and holiness; cleansing from sin (1
John 1:7).
·
Light is a metaphor for living in the love of God (1 John 2:9-10).
The light of
Jesus and His gospel, when shined into darkness, gives great hope and eternal
life:
A man whose youth and early
manhood had been spent in evil ways, and who was converted to God, was one
night giving his testimony. He had met an old drinking pal during the week who
chaffed him for turning pious. “I’ll tell you what,” I said to him, “you know
what I am (he was a lamplighter); when I go round turning out the lights, I
look back, and all the road over which I’ve been walking is all darkness, and
that’s what my past is like.
“I look on in front, and there’s
a long row of twinkling lights to guide me, and that’s what the future is since
I found Jesus.” “Yes,” says my friend, “but by-and-by you get to the last lamp
and turn it out, and where are you then?” “Then,” says I, “why, when the last
lamp goes out it’s dawn, and there ain’t no need for lamps when the morning
comes.” [8]
Jesus said:
·
John
12:35-36 - 35 Then Jesus said to them, “A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you
have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not
know where he is going. 36 While you
have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.”
These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.
Jesus light is still shinning. It shines its life-giving hue into dark
lost lives. It shines its holy light on those things that threaten to cover the
light in dark sinful covers. “While you have the light, believe in the light,
that you may become sons of light.” That is the Christmas light.
[3]Tan, Paul Lee: Encyclopedia of
7700 Illustrations : A Treasury of Illustrations, Anecdotes, Facts and
Quotations for Pastors, Teachers and Christian Workers. Garland TX : Bible
Communications, 1996, c1979
[5]Tan, Paul Lee: Encyclopedia of
7700 Illustrations : A Treasury of Illustrations, Anecdotes, Facts and
Quotations for Pastors, Teachers and Christian Workers. Garland TX : Bible
Communications, 1996, c1979
[6]Tan, Paul Lee: Encyclopedia of
7700 Illustrations : A Treasury of Illustrations, Anecdotes, Facts and
Quotations for Pastors, Teachers and Christian Workers. Garland TX : Bible
Communications, 1996, c1979
[7]Tan, Paul Lee: Encyclopedia of
7700 Illustrations : A Treasury of Illustrations, Anecdotes, Facts and
Quotations for Pastors, Teachers and Christian Workers. Garland TX : Bible
Communications, 1996, c1979
[8]Tan, Paul Lee: Encyclopedia of
7700 Illustrations : A Treasury of Illustrations, Anecdotes, Facts and
Quotations for Pastors, Teachers and Christian Workers. Garland TX : Bible
Communications, 1996, c1979
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