God is Light

This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all.” I John 1:5

It is said that the Luxor Sky Light in Las Vegas is the most powerful light in the world. I mention this technological marvel in my book, “Who Is This Jesus” in the chapter dealing with Jesus as The Light of the World. The Luxor Sky Light shines from the top of the pyramid-shaped Luxor Hotel and its beam is so bright that pilots going in and out of LAX 275 miles away can see it! Each of the thirty-nine light bulbs that make up the beam cost $1,200, which means you can’t buy them at your local Wal-mart. You would not want to lick your fingers and try to unscrew one of them, since each bulb rises to 800 degrees Fahrenheit!

Yes, the Luxor Sky Light may be the most powerful light in the world, but it is not the most powerful light in the universe. That glorious distinction is reserved for our Lord God. Remember, Paul wrote in I Timothy 6:15 that God lives in “unapproachable light” that no one can look at. John tells us in Revelation that heaven will not need a sun or a moon or any other kind of light because, “The glory of God gives it light”. All of heaven is lit up by the presence of God!

John had already seen his heavenly vision as recorded in the book of Revelation. He had seen the glory of the Lord and the brightness of heaven. Now the words of Jesus were even more powerfully engraved in his mind and he could emphatically state, “God is light”. This reminds me of the words of Job where he says at the end of his trials, “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you”. John had not only heard Jesus speak of God as light, he had actually seen The Light!

God is light and as light He does several things for humanity. Time and space do not allow me to be extensive here, so let me make just a couple of observations. Again, we must be mindful of the heresies that John was attempting to thwart. John makes it clear that he is passing on to them what he was taught by Jesus himself. As light, God illuminates our hearts to understand who He is and who His Son is. How many times have I heard people say that when they heard the Gospel it was like a light switch went on? That is exactly right. As light, God illuminates our hearts and minds to understand things of the Spirit. Our entire worldview changes as He enters our lives.

As light, God is our moral compass in all that we do. We will see this as we read through the letter and see the language of “darkness and light”. The darkness will represent sin and the light will represent moral purity. The light of God shows us how dark we really are inside. Now there are those who would say otherwise. Remember the philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre who is hailed as a great philosopher in our colleges and universities today. He wrote, “If God exists man cannot be free. But man is free; therefore God cannot exist. Since God does not exist all things are morally permissible.” Talk about scary!

C.S. Lewis would then write, “If no set of moral ideas were truer or better than any other, there would be no sense in preferring civilized morality to savage morality, or Christian morality to Nazi morality”. C.S. Lewis knew that Sartre’s way of thinking would bring total anarchy to the world as everyone would do whatever they wanted.

As light, God is also our source of safety. Who has not longed to see the dawn after a fearful night? The light of day brings the joy of being able to fully see what otherwise we might have tripped over in the dark. As Ecclesiastes 11:7 says, “Light is sweet and it pleases the eyes to see the sun”. The light of God shows us the way to go, the paths to take, and perils to avoid. We can stumble around in the dark or we can yield to the light of the Lord in every area of our lives.

As light, God is our warmth! So as the sun warms the earth, God’s light warms our hearts. It is His love that fills us with warmth. Julian of Norwich is credited with being the first woman to write a book in the English language. Her book, Sixteen Revelations of Divine Love, was written in the late 14th century. To this day, I am not sure anyone has captured in words the mysteries of God’s love for us any better:

“In His love he clothes us, enfolds us and embraces us; that tender love completely surrounds us, never to leave us. Some of us believe that God is almighty and may do everything, and that he is all-wisdom and can do everything-there we stop short. It is this ignorance, it seems to me, that hinders most of God’s lovers.”

Yes, many people are fascinated with the Luxor Sky Light; but for you and me, we are fascinated with The Light! We have The Light of the World living in our very souls, illuminating our minds and hearts, leading us to purity of life, protecting us along our journey, and warming us with His eternal love.

Peace to you,

Dan

Copyright 2009 Eternity Minded Ministries