LIGHT! BE!

He spoke His eternal word--LIGHT---into existence in a dark and lonely speck of matter, and that LIGHT brought into existence everything that is.

I do love the "Big Bang" theory, for it correlates so well with the account of Creation given in Genesis, Chapter 1.  Can we imagine a world without light-energy?  Nothing would grow, and so the earth would be just a cold stone floating in space, no more significant than the meteor chunks we occasionally see falling from the sky.

The light-energy that gives life to all that exists pre-existed the sun, and indeed, was the source of the sun's energy and light itself.  Until science discovered the full spectrum of light and radiation -- and who is to say there is not yet more to be discovered?---scholars puzzled over what this "light" could be that preceded the appearance of the sun, moon, and stars in Genesis 1.  Now, we are using lasers to heal disease.

The first chapter of John says that the Word was with God at the beginning and the Word was God:

Through Him, all things were made; without him, nothing was made that has been made.  In him was life, and that life was the light of men.

 

Later in John's Gospel, Jesus says, "I am the Light of the world" (9:4).  In the Psalms, David exclaims: "In Your Light, we see light!"

 

What we call "religion" is merely our receiving, or soaking up, the Light of the world, opening our hearts to the Divine Energy, which so wants to take up residence in the temples of our souls.  From that center, It desires to radiate outward to a spiritually dark and lonely world.  We have all seen people who have lost the light of life; their eyes are dead.  Often, I see these people's pictures on the front page of the newspaper -- they have murdered, molested, cooked meth, taken crack, etc.  And I look at their empty eyes, wondering if I can find light in those eyes -- the windows of the soul.

 

There are some whose "light" derives from "who they are," "what they own," or "what they know" -- all ways of "shining" in a dark world.  But these lights soon disappear, and they are no longer remembered by the world.  The Jews had a saying, "The just man shall be in everlasting remembrance," meaning that justice (holiness) lasts forever.  When the Light of God is absorbed by a person's soul, his light shines in the darkness, regardless of his/her religion.  Malala is one example of a shining light, as is Mother Teresa and countless others whose lives will never be publicized.  I have met cooks and housekeepers, maintenance men, teachers, and countless others who had within them the "Light of Life."  And their light is radiant to all who come into contact with them.

 

Jesus Calling -- Nov. 20 -- puts it this way:

 

Shift your focus from your performance to My radiant Presence.  The Light of My Love shines on you continually, regardless of your feelings or behavior.  Your responsibility is to be receptive to the unconditional Love.  Thankfulness and trust are your primary receptors.  Thank Me for everything; trust in Me at all times.  These simple disciplines will keep you open to My loving Presence.

 

Many people seem to be afraid of the Light of the World.  John says this is because their "deeds are evil."  I have met some who are not necessarily evil, but just not interested---their "light" is coming from someplace more intriguing to them.  The world of entertainment and celebrities is one source of  "light" to some; the academic world is another source to many.  It may help all of us to consider our own sources of "light" and whether they actually give Energy and Life to us, or whether they drain those qualities from us.