The first work of God was the creation of the earth. The original state of the earth was “without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep”. The first recorded word of God was, “let there be light and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good...”. (Gen. 1:3-4).

            Even before there was any living thing there was light. All forms of life love light except evil men who hate light because their deeds are evil. Light is essential to the proper development and well-being of all life. This is evidenced by the difference in a plant which has plenty of light and one that has insufficient light.

            Jesus is the light of the world. Just as God made the sun, the source of all physical light on the earth, He made Jesus the “Sun of righteousness” (Mal. 4:2). In John 1:6-8, John said, “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came that he might bear witness of the light that all might believe through him. He was n ot the light, but came that he might bear witness of the light. There was the true light even the light which lighteth every man, coming into the world.”

            John was a light for Jesus said of him in John 5:35, “He was the lamp that burneth and shineth; and ye were willing to rejoice for a season in his light.”  But John was not the Great Light.

            Jesus said of Himself in John 9:5, “When I am in th world I am the light of the world”. Isaiah said in the long ago, “The Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended” (Isa. 60:20).

            When God  was ready for the children of Israel to begin their journey from Egypt to Canaan, to guide them He provide a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day. When the fire moved, they moved. God the Father leads us by a light, too. David said, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my pathway”. As long as we follow in the light of His word, we will be safe. “For we walk by faith and not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7). “So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17). “If we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 Jn. 1:7). Let us walk in the light of God’s eternal word.

            Christians are lights. As Christ, in doing the will of His father while among men reflected the nature of God, we ought to do Christ’s will so completely as to reflect the very nature of Christ. In doing the will of Christ we are seen as lights. Paul admonishes, “That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;” (Phil. 2:15). This “crooked and perverse generation” in which we live needs to have many children of God reflecting the light of Christ. Whether or not this generation ever glorifies the Father may depend on our light. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Mat. 5:16).

            We, as the children of God, will be the only Bible many will ever read unless they are attracted to the truth by our lives. The apostle Paul says to the Corinthian brethren, “Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men” (2 Cor. 3:2). This makes it vastly important that we keep ourselves pure and our lives in harmony with the word of God.

            Men watch us. If they can see Christ in our lives, they may be attracted to Christ when they would not even read the Bible. Paul reminds the Ephesians, “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: WALK AS CHILDREN OF LIGHT” (Eph. 5:8).

            Brethren, by the words of the beloved Paul,let us be reminded, “The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.”. (Rom. 13:12)

---Hollis Creel