Illumination

Genesis 1:3-5,14-19-

“And 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… And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so.  And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.”

~~~~~

Darkness is the absence of light. Light serves a purpose to illuminate and provide clarity. As I flew home from a trip to Hong Kong, I got to experience the separation of light and dark in a beautiful way. After leaving Hong Kong I had been exposed to a different kind of darkness where the majority of the population did not proclaim to be believers.  The numbers were intimidating to say the least. Only 5% of the population proclaims to be Christian. But the light that I saw in the city was blinding. The church is growing and expanding in such a beautiful and exciting way. This growth and spread gave me a renewed passion to spread the mystery of the gospel.

As the Lord would have it, we flew home through the night. Whenever I was awake on the plane I stared into the dark abyss that was the ocean out my window. Once we flew over land again we would occasionally fly over a city and see some twinkling lights below. Then I witnessed beauty in a new, indescribable way. I got to experience the sunrise from the air. The imagery gave a whole new meaning to beautiful. The sun rose on the left side of the plane. I stared in awe as the horizon softly lit to muted hues of pink, blue, and purple. It was warm and inviting. To my right, the window displayed only faint glimpses of light given off by the stars still glowing in the black night.  It was a stark contrast. To my left was a new beginning, a fresh start. To my right was the end of something extravagant. As I continued to look on, the light became more and more prominent. Eventually, there was no darkness left at all. There was not a space out any window that had any absence of light. The light had spread to the entire horizon.

This display of majesty would not have been possible first without darkness. Just as a flashlight serves no purpose in a well-lit place, a sunrise would not be magnificent without a dark night first. The Lord reminds me of my calling in such sweet ways. In Matthew 5:14-16, Jesus speaks identity into His followers: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” We are the light that reflects Christ. Granted, our light looks like a flashlight to the sun when comparing our light to that of the King of Creation. Regardless, our purpose is to provide clarity and illuminate that which is without light. Light expels darkness. Both cannot be present at the same time, because darkness is the absence of light. So in the presence of light, darkness is overpowered.  We are called to reflect the love of our Savior.  C.S. Lewis describes the illumination of the gospel with the words: “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” As we reflect God’s character we pour forth truth.  As we shine the light of our King, we expel darkness.






~~~~~