Series Intro: The Lord is My Light

This month, the DoNotDepart blog will be exploring the Light of God in a series titled, “The Lord is My Light.” Join us as we reflect on light, from the beginning of both Genesis the Gospel of John through the last chapters of Revelation.

I know, I know.
This beautiful passage is so familiar that it’s easy to read through it quickly.
But humor me, slow down, and take it in for a minute, letting it sink in at the pace of poetry.

 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
(John 1:1-4, emphasis mine)

With this passage, John introduces his Gospel in parallel to the creation narrative of Genesis, which also begins with light and its distinction from darkness:

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness.”
(Genesis 1:1-4, emphasis mine)

With these two “beginnings” God reveals so much to us about Who He is and what our world is like. Just skimming the surface, I see that:

• God the Father, the Son (the Word), and the Holy Spirit have been from the very beginning.
•  Light entered the world through the spoken, creative word of God …
• … and also through the life within Christ.
• The presence of light in our world does not (yet) mean the absence of darkness.
• The darkness has been separated from the light.
• Light shines in the darkness, and light is victorious. “Darkness has not overcome it.”

That fourth statement sits particularly heavy with me today: The presence of light in our world does not (yet) mean the absence of darkness.

While the Bible beautifully depicts light and all the character of God and freedom for us that light embodies, the Bible also graphically depicts darkness. And you know what strikes me as weird? I somehow find that comforting. Because I see the darkness around me. We all see the darkness around us. That the Bible also depicts the darkness that remains all around us is somehow validating and grounding to me.

Horrors of war, like those depicted in the book of Habakkuk, rage on around the globe.
Just last week a dear friend shared with me some of her childhood experiences, and frankly, I had not truly understood that things that evil happen around here. It is too much for words. The darkness around us is far darker than I generally perceive. Sometimes, it threatens to overwhelm.

And yet that darkness is neither uncontested nor victorious. The light shines in the darkness, and darkness has not overcome it.

As we live in this “already” and also “not yet” age in which Christ has come incarnate, defeated death, and risen victorious, our world still spins in alternating darkness and light, day and night. We know that one day, the light will shine so brilliantly from the Son, the Lamb of God, that night will be no more (Revelation 21:23-25).  In the meanwhile, we enter places of darkness with the light of Christ, participating in the still-raging battle between the two with the hopeful assurance of victory.

The Lord is my light and my salvation;
    whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
    of whom shall I be afraid?
(Psalm 27:1)

Join me in prayer and worship, declaring Christ’s victory over darkness: