A long time ago… a very long time ago, light was uncovered. But, not in a way you might assume, or even thought possible. In the beginning there wasn’t actually sun. The light shown itself from another source.
Living in the Light
“This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.”
1 John 1:5-7 NLT
Let there be light. The creation story features God bringing light out of darkness.
Light was precious. During ancient times our ancestors could not flip a switch. Light was costly and special.
Light and darkness have been mysterious companions for as long as humankind has existed. Our modern Western civilization has largely associated light with good and darkness with evil, but this is far from the only interpretation that can be taken from this duality.
A Historical Perspective
In the Eastern philosophical tradition, both light and darkness are seen as essential forces that must work in balance. The Yin-Yang symbol, which is a part of many Eastern spiritual and philosophical traditions, is meant to represent this balance — the dark and the light are shown as complementary and interconnected, rather than as opposing forces. This concept of dualism has been an integral part of many spiritual and religious ideologies, with light and darkness being interpreted as two parts of a larger whole.
In some mythologies, light is a representation of knowledge and wisdom while darkness is associated with inexperience and ignorance. These symbolic interpretations can be applied to our own lives. We often encounter times of both light and darkness, and it is through these experiences that we begin to shape the balance of light and darkness.
The Cave
I don’t know if you have experienced true darkness. This is far beyond turning the light off in a room and shutting the door. Light has a far reach, however there is one place that light, unless it’s brought, can’t get to.
I have a story… a real one. I wish it was one of grave danger that included a damsel in distress, fire breathing dragons, a hero and a wizard with a long beard, but this is not that story.
The youth group I was a part of went on a trip to West Virginia on a service project. We camped on a property that had caves. We were given permission by the owner to explore the caves as we wish, but advised us to bring two sources of light for each person. One of those sources must be a lighter, in the event that the flashlights quit working. We spent hours in the cave exploring and at times were crawling through water because the path would get smaller and then open up again into a large cavern. In this cave, is the first time I experienced true darkness. We decided to turn off all lights and the darkness was astounding. I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face. As dark as it was, the tiniest flicker of light would travel far. I flicked the lighter and the light danced across the room filling every inch of darkness.
Chasing Light
Receive the light, live in the light, witness to the light.
Living in darkness and shame? Jesus’ light can penetrate any darkness.
“Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”” John 8:12 NLT
Chasing light from a Biblical perspective is a great way to keep perspective on the things that truly matter in life. The Bible often talks about a divine light that comes from God himself as a source of life and hope. This light guides us to stay on the path of righteousness, to show compassion to others, and to serve God. One of the greatest lessons we can learn from chasing light is that we must always remain humble before God, no matter what our current circumstances. As we pursue the light from God, we are also strengthening our faith and relationship with Him, which can lead us closer to living lives full of joy and peace.
Aslan’s Creation of Narnia
In the darkness, something was happening at last. A voice had begun to sing. It was very far away and Digory found it hard to decide from what direction it was coming. Sometimes it seemed to come from all directions at once. Sometimes he almost thought it was coming out of the earth beneath them. Its lower notes were deep enough to be the voice of the earth herself. There were no words. There was hardly even a tune. But it was, beyond comparison, the most beautiful noise he had ever heard. It was so beautiful he could hardly bear it. Then two wonders happened at the same moment. One was that the voice was suddenly joined by other voices; more voices than you could possibly count. They were in harmony with it, but far higher up the scale; cold, tingling, silvery voices. The second wonder was that the blackness overhead, all at once, was blazing with stars. They didn’t come out gently one by one as on a summer evening. One moment there had been nothing but darkness; next moment a thousand, thousand points of light leaped out. If you had seen and heard it, as Digory did, you would have felt quite certain that it was the First Voice, the deep one, which had made them appear and made them sing. (C.S. Lewis, The Magician’s Nephew (New York: Collier), pp. 98-99).
Within C.S. Lewis’ works, light and darkness often represent good and evil, respectively. Light is thought to represent truth, freedom, and life, while darkness symbolizes death, chaos, and temptation. Light is also seen as a physical manifestation of God’s presence. In The Chronicles of Narnia series, Aslan represents the light of truth, and Jadis, the White Witch, is the darkness, embodying the temptation of evil. In The Screwtape Letters, Lewis uses the metaphor of light and dark when discussing spiritual battles. Screwtape explains that, just like the darkness of the night is conquered by the light of the day, faith in God is the only way to overcome the darkness of evil. From Lewis’ perspective, light and darkness are often seen as two forces in perpetual battle with each other as humanity attempts to rise above evil and choose the right path.
A golden light fell on them from the left. He thought it was the sun…It was from the Lion that the light came. No one ever saw anything more terrible or beautiful.
C.S. Lewis
Know your power, believe in yourself and don’t let anyone dim your light
Leigh-Anne Pinnock
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