Flowing Triplets: Let Your Light Shine!

As we saw last week, flowing triplets of God’s love, light, and living water characterize His divine nature and bathe His children in His grace, holiness, and salvation.

God’s first recorded words were “Let there be light,” (Genesis 1:3). Light was and is essential to provide the energy to sustain all of His subsequent creation. Light and other forms of radiant energy flow continuously from the sun and other stars, traveling faster than anything in our known universe at the speed of 186,000 miles per second. Light travels in the form of a wave, much like waves we see in the ocean, but the frequency of the sine wave is so high that our eyes do not perceive the waveform.

Based on frequency, light can be divided into the visible spectrum, infrared radiation, and ultraviolet radiation. White light is composed of three primary colors: red, blue, and yellow, which when mixed together in pairs give rise to the secondary colors (purple, green, and orange). When we see a rainbow, the symbol of God’s promise never again to destroy the earth by flood (Genesis 9:13-16), we perceive it as having predominantly three bands corresponding to the primary colors.

Like matter, light and other forms of energy cannot be created or destroyed, because God spoke all that is into existence by the words of His mouth over the six days of His creation (Hebrews 11:3; John 1:3). However, Einstein’s famous equation involving only three terms showed us that energy and matter can be converted into one another. Energy equals matter times the speed of light squared, which is a number so large it is difficult to even imagine (448,900,000,000,000,000 in units of miles per hour).

Light on earth comes from the sun during the day, and from the moon and stars at night (Genesis 1:16), and all these praise the One Who made them (Psalm 148:3). God created these heavenly lights to give signs of His power, seasons varying in temperature and in earth’s growing cycles, and markers of time in days, months and years (Genesis 1:14).

God has used celestial lights for visible and prophetic signs of His majestic power, as in the sun standing still to aid Joshua in battle (Joshua 10:12-13), the blood moon to signify tribulation (Joel 2:31; Acts 2:20; Revelation 6:12), and the star directing the wise men to the Christ Child (Matthew 2:9). In the Great Tribulation, God’s judgment will be evident as the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven (Matthew 24:29).

The sun and moon illuminate the first heaven (Genesis 1:17)., or earth’s sky where birds fly; the stars brighten the second heaven of outer space, and Jesus Christ, the bright Morning Star (Revelation 22:16), lights up the third heaven where God the Father resides (2 Corinthians 12:2). The New Jerusalem will have no night, nor will it need the light of the sun or stars, for Christ Himself will be its eternal light (Isaiah 60:19; Revelation 21:23; 22:5).

The goodness, holiness and power of Jesus Christ, Who is the Light of the world (John 8:12; 9:5; 12:46), shine in and on the darkness of sin (Isaiah 9:2; 60:1) just as the sun lights up our planet. But His followers are also the light of the world (Matthew 5:14) and light in the world (Philippians 2:15), for His light shines through us and reflects from us like the moon reflects the sun’s brilliance. We share with the world the light of the glorious gospel of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:4).

The prophet Isaiah, inspired by God, commanded the nation of Israel to arise and shine, for their Light would come in the person of Jesus Christ, and the glory of the Lord would rise upon them. That Light would attract not only the Jews, but also the Gentiles, and kings of many nations (Isaiah 60:1-3). That Light would shine with health, righteousness, and the glory of the Lord (Isaiah 58:8).

John described Jesus as the True Light with life that was the light of men, and that shone in darkness; and that lit every man who came into the world (John 1:4-9). The transfiguration of Jesus, in which His inner circle of Peter. James and John witnessed the brilliance of His glory, was described as His face shining like the sun, His clothing white as the light, and the voice of His Father speaking from a bright cloud (Matthew 17 1-5). This glimpse of Christ in His glory reminds us that He is clothed in light, honor and majesty (Psalm 104:1-2).

Jesus called His followers the light of the world, comparing us to a candle elevated on a candlestick and illuminating all in the house, and telling us to let our light shine before men to God’s glory (Matthew 5:14-16). He told His apostles that while they had His light, they were to believe in the light, so that they would be the children of light (John 12:36).

Because God is light, we should walk in the light, as He is in the light (1 John 1:5-7). God’s Word is a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns, and the day star rises in our once darkened hearts (2 Peter 1:19).

Jesus said that if our whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light (Luke 11:36).

Praise God that He is not only our light, but also our salvation and strength! (Psalm 27:1). He is our light in the darkness of evil, radiating His grace, compassion, and righteousness (Psalm 112:4). Once we place our faith in Christ’s death, burial and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) as the only Way to Heaven (John 14:6), we have no need to fear, for we shall bask eternally in His perfect light! May His light shine through us!

© 2014 Laurie Collett