Light – You were made for this!

Light – You were made for this!

Light is the first created thing.

Light is at the end of the story.

Gen 1:3  Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light.
In the end, created light is consumed in the eternal lite. Life as we know it changes. The Lord becomes the light.

Rev 22:5  And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever.
 

Our lives parallel this process. When we are born, we are birthed into the created light, into this world. As we are reborn in Christ Jesus our illumination changes. We learn to see what cannot be seen. We are illuminated, directed, kept safe by an uncreated eternal light.

But the final goal is not the plan. The plan is the pathway of transformation, of illumination. All who are being changed into the image of Christ Jesus are called to be light for the Lord here and now. We are reflectors, luminaries, candles, lamps and yes, light.

From the time of Isaiah, the people of God have been given a clear message that they are light to this world. This light of the Lord factor is God’s counter measure to the darkness. Jesus teaches us the same truth in Matthew. You and I were created to light this world up.

Isa_9:2  The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them.

Mat 5:14-16  "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;  (15)  nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  (16)  "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

What does this mean to you personally?

1.      You are a part of God’s plan. You are called to be light. You have both value and purpose.
2.      God and this world have need of you. You may feel like this world is crashing down, out of control. But you are called to shine, give illumination, hope and revelation. You’re the street light in the dark alley, the sunrise following the storms of life.
3.      Just as the light does not make decisions for people, we are not called to control. The light provides what is needed so that people can see. When we focus on helping people see we are not encumbered by the need to have them make certain decisions. Many people saw Jesus while He walked on earth and did not follow Him. While Jesus was grieved by their choices He did not attack or mock them for those choices. He just kept shining.
4.      Your ability to be light depends upon your ability to reflect eternal light. Don’t hide yourself under the protective isolation of our day. Go ahead and shine before men. Sure, some people will yell at you, “turn that light off.” But your behavior is not for them, it is for the Lord.

5.      Your life as light is what you and this world needs. In the passage below you will see that the solution to the problems of our day are all fund in being the Light. Our desire to walk in fellowship with God, the questions of truth and perspective are found here. The concerns with hypocrisy and being authentic as well as unity, racism and social division. Finally, the wounds of past sins and the restoration of the soul are gained through divine light.

1Jn 1:5-7  This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.  (6)  If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;  (7)  but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

Q -How am I going to be light?

A – If you have excepted the Lord as Savior, you already are light. The moment you committed to follow Jesus, a candle was ignited in your soul. It may not be big, but it is there.

Q – How am I going to be the kind of light that God desires?

A – Through the Holy Spirit bearing fruit in your life. If you want to grow as light, focus on the indwelling Holy Spirit. We cannot generate divine light ourselves. The light we are and the light the world is looking for is eternal. So we must receive it to emit it.

Gal 5:22-26  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  (23)  gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.  (24)  Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  (25)  If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.  (26)  Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.

Q – How do I receive it?

A – Ask and keep on asking. Seek and keep on seeking. Knock and keep on knocking. For everyone who seeks, finds. (Matt 7:7)

 For more lightful reflection 

Light In Isaiah

1.      Isa_2:5  Come, house of Jacob, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.

2.      Isa_5:20  Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

3.      Isa_5:30  And it will growl over it in that day like the roaring of the sea. If one looks to the land, behold, there is darkness and distress; Even the light is darkened by its clouds.

4.      Isa_9:2  The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them.

5.      Isa_10:17  And the light of Israel will become a fire and his Holy One a flame, And it will burn and devour his thorns and his briars in a single day.

6.      Isa_13:10  For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not flash forth their light; The sun will be dark when it rises And the moon will not shed its light.

7.      Isa_30:26  The light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven days, on the day the LORD binds up the fracture of His people and heals the bruise He has inflicted.

8.      Isa_42:6  "I am the LORD, I have called You in righteousness, I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You, And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the nations,

9.      Isa_42:16  "I will lead the blind by a way they do not know, In paths they do not know I will guide them. I will make darkness into light before them And rugged places into plains. These are the things I will do, And I will not leave them undone."

10.   Isa_45:7  The One forming light and creating darkness, Causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the LORD who does all these.

11.   Isa_49:6  He says, "It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth."

12.   Isa_50:10  Who is among you that fears the LORD, That obeys the voice of His servant, That walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.

13.   Isa_50:11  Behold, all you who kindle a fire, Who encircle yourselves with firebrands, Walk in the light of your fire And among the brands you have set ablaze. This you will have from My hand: You will lie down in torment.

14.   Isa_51:4  "Pay attention to Me, O My people, And give ear to Me, O My nation; For a law will go forth from Me, And I will set My justice for a light of the peoples.

15.   Isa_58:8  "Then your light will break out like the dawn, And your recovery will speedily spring forth; And your righteousness will go before you; The glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.

16.   Isa_58:10  And if you give yourself to the hungry And satisfy the desire of the afflicted, Then your light will rise in darkness And your gloom will become like midday.

17.   Isa_59:9  Therefore justice is far from us, And righteousness does not overtake us; We hope for light, but behold, darkness, For brightness, but we walk in gloom.

18.   Isa_60:1  "Arise, shine; for your light has come, And the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.

19.   Isa_60:3  "Nations will come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising.

20.   Isa_60:19  "No longer will you have the sun for light by day, Nor for brightness will the moon give you light; But you will have the LORD for an everlasting light, And your God for your glory.

21.   Isa_60:20  "Your sun will no longer set, Nor will your moon wane; For you will have the LORD for an everlasting light, And the days of your mourning will be over.