The first act of creation enabled the separation of light from darkness.
Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness.
God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day (Genesis 1.3-5).
The sun, moon, and stars will not appear until the fourth day of creation. If we find the idea of light without luminaries strange, this isn’t the only instance where the phenomenon will occur.
And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb (Revelation 21:23).
History of Light
Light has a profound history in the Bible. The psalm writers knew the essential need to have the presence of God’s light in their lives.
It is you who light my lamp;
the Lord, my God, lights up my darkness. (Psalm 18:28)
Light is seen as a key component of life.
For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light. (Psalm 36:9)
The prophet saw the light as a beneficial force against darkness and evil.
The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness—
on them light has shined. (Isaiah 9:2)
In John’s Gospel which echoes the Genesis account, we learn that Jesus is God’s agent of creation and the source of the universe’s light.
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 into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life,and the life was the light of all people.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it (John 1.1-5).
Response to the Light of the World
Since God is both the light of the world and the Creator of light, there is a correct response to this fact.
Isaiah tells us that our proper response is to conduct our lives relative to God’s light.
O house of Jacob,
come, let us walk
in the light of the Lord! (Isaiah 2:5)
God’s light is consistent with His righteousness and justice. To walk in the light is to exhibit God’s characteristics of righteousness, justice, grace, and more in our daily activity.
Isaiah also speaks about the opposite of living in the light.
Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter! (Isaiah 5:20)
There are over 300 references to “light” in the Bible. Jesus highlights how to live in the light.
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).
The most important decision we can make is to follow Jesus. With Him, we escape the darkness and live in the light, which is life.
Walking with Jesus is like walking through a forest with a good flashlight. You may have 50 feet of visibility with that flashlight. You don’t know what the end will be because you can’t see that far. But every time you walk 50 feet, you’re given another 50 feet of illumination.
When we walk with Jesus, we have his company. We also have his assurance that he will show us the way and keep us from stumbling in the dark. He may not tell us what the end goal will be, but every time we walk with him another day, he gives us another day of light.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross and I discussed the first two days of creation on YouTube today.
Real Voices 