The Light
And light was called Good
“Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.” Matthew 5:14-16.
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Let every lamp be burning...Bright or Dim? Growing up, I can recall the children's song which sings, “Jesus bids us shine with a clear pure light. Like a little candle burning in the night. In this world of darkness, we must shine. You in your small corner, and I in mine.” It’s a classic tune, but as we get older, we start to ask more questions like, ‘What is this song really talking about?’ ’What is this light, and where does it come from? Within ourselves or another source?’ We know for a fact, that in order for a candle to be lit, it requires an outside source to come to light it up, would this be the same spiritually? Makes sense.
Here is another way to look at the concept of light. When you ingest something, naturally it will show in your countenance; your appearance; your character, whether we realise it or not. From a spiritual perspective, when we walk with God (study His Word, pray, fast, etc), we shall be enlightened by Him and His presence. Our light, our countenance will reflect His.
In 2 Corinthians 3:18, it reads, “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” Looking at the light of God, absorbing every aspect of His life, makes us brighter each day. Reflecting exactly what we learn from Him. Take a Sunflower. When the sun's rays are upon it, it has the tendency to turn toward the sun and open. When this happens, something beautiful is brought forth. It reflects the beauty it beholds; the greatness in which is beheld.
In Exodus 34:28-35, we have the story of Moses where he had spent forty days and forty nights in the mount with God, and after such a time, Moses finally returns to the people. When the people came to meet Moses, they became afraid as Moses’ face shone so bright, they could not stand to see him. Can you imagine? Moses is an example of what it looks like when someone walks with God and shows their light. He made the time to take in all that God was sharing with Him and like the glass, He beheld the character of God. Can you imagine how many times Moses sought to be with God? (v. 35).
In the Sanctuary, the golden candlesticks are significant to the temple service and are required to be maintained every few hours. What would happen if the lamps were not trimmed? If it was left to burn high, it would let off soot and would burn the oil faster. For us spiritually, we can liken this to a prideful attitude. One which proves challenging for God to work with; The soot, the choking and hazardous sin which expels from the prideful soul, burning all the oil, where the Spirit will have to depart as there is no space for God in that person’s life. What if the lamp is left at a low state? The lamp would become dim, eventually losing its light. We can liken this to the people who have fallen asleep in their spiritual walk; their light is slowly dying, growing, and becoming cold. Soon the light will no longer be alight, and those who see them will only see darkness, in fact, even the person themselves, will only see darkness, depression, and suffering through their eyes, as the light is no longer beheld and reflected.
This brings me back to the original question. ’What is this light, and where does it come from? Within ourselves or another source?’ From the earlier discussion, we can see that we indeed ourselves, cannot lighten ourselves, but it is God who needs to trim our lamps, into His likeness, and to be filled with his Spirit to lead us along. BUT FIRST! We need to be willing for Him to do so. God is willing to remove the things in our lives that are not good in order for us to shine bright (again)! If we are not trimmed we will have no purpose or use for the work of God. We will need to be removed. Christ has the light of life and we need to cling to Him in order to be a part of it, and so that our light is shining too. (John 8:12)
Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
- John 8:12 -
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- "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." 2 Corinthians 4:6
- "And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness." Genesis 1:4
God has given us the opportunity to take hold of the light and has given the command that darkness should be removed from us; God has given His light to Christ, His Son who glorifies Him. Since from the very beginning of the earth’s start, we see that even then, God was demonstrating the plan even before sin entered the world. The contrast of darkness and light were to be separate, evidence that even nature speaks of God’s plan of salvation and hope.
AND LIGHT WAS CALLED GOOD.
And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. Genesis 1:4
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