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."-1 John 1:5

Light is a pretty cool thing. We all know what it is, so much so that often times we take it for granted. I would like to take a moment and think about it a little more in depth. In my art class we've been talking about the subject of light and I want to share some of my thoughts. Light can be pretty abstract. Just from some of our lectures in class I can tell you that 97% of the nature of light is way over my head. There's some CRAZY physics behind light. So before we get started, know that I'm giving you an incredibly primal example that does not even come close to conveying the true depth of light. Anyhow, In class the other day my professor turned off all of the lights and after a second he placed a candle at the center of the room and lit it. Immediately all eyes turned to the candle and the room became illuminated. A candle does in fact produce light but think about what else identifies a candle, or fire. A better way of thinking of it is consider what makes a candle different from a light bulb. A light bulb produces light, sure, but that's really it. A candle is much more. It moves and changes size. It is, in many ways, alive. A candle, or fire, can exist in and of itself. Light can be considered this way. It has existence and substance. Outside of light there is nothing. In fact, as we all know, darkness is simply the absence of life. Darkness has no being, it does not exist except for where there is no light. This is very similar to what we see in Genesis 1:1. The earth was a formless void... nothingness. Then God created light and creation suddenly had some sort of form. Again, this is all very abstract and in some areas may or may not make sense.  I've tried to keep it relatively simple but the truth is I'm not incredibly gifted with clarity. I do think, though, that considering large concepts can "shed light" (pardon the pun) on other things, really cool things.

Now take this verse in 1 John. "God is light." Really think about that. Yes, it does mean that, like a light bulb, God is bright and gives off light. But consider a more candle version of light. God is a being and has substance. He exists in and of Himself. Outside of Him, there is nothing. Just like the candle, pretty simple stuff. Now think about what else God is. He is love, He is life, He is truth, etc.. Just like light, these things exist and have being. There is no opposite of these things, only the absence. What does this mean for me? Well I was once a child of darkness. My spirit wasn't just dead... it had no being. In me was no love, in me was no life, in me was no truth. Here's the good news: "When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, '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. No longer do I walk in darkness, no longer is my spirit lifeless. Because of the love of God, I am alive. I have being. My spirit has been reborn. Not only that,  but I'm born of Heaven. I do not belong to this world, or darkness. I live differently. I look different. I act different. I am because of THE I am. John 15 is a clear depiction of what this looks like. Jesus is in the Father and I am in Jesus. I cannot be separated, in fact, "I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39).