Thought for Today
Genesis 1:3 Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light.
Nehemiah 9:12 Moreover, you led them by day with a pillar of cloud, and by night with a pillar of fire, to give them light on the way in which they should go.
John 1:4 in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
Ephesians 5:8 For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light—
Many ancient religions were dualistic, “dualism (from Lat. duo, ‘two’) Any view that is constituted by two basic or fundamental principles such as spirit and matter or good and evil. Can also refer to belief in the existence of two gods (ditheism).” (Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms, pg. 83) More often than not, those religions posited a ‘good’ god associated with light and an ‘evil’ god associated with darkness.
“Zoroastrianism, also called Mazdayasna and Behdin, is an Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, Zoroaster . . . Among the world's oldest organized faiths, its adherents exalt an uncreated, benevolent, and all-wise deity known as Ahura Mazda . . . who is hailed as the supreme being of the universe. Opposed to Ahura Mazda is Angra Mainyu . . . who is personified as a destructive spirit and the adversary of all things that are good.” (en.wikipedia.org) Zoroastrianism was “first recorded in the mid-6th century BCE.” (ibid) Many suspect that the Jews may well have encountered Zoroastrianism during the Babylonian Captivity.
Since our earliest progenitors first climbed down out of the trees, humans have had an almost instinctive fear of the darkness. It is not completely unreasonable to view the history of mankind as a continuous struggle to conquer and eliminate darkness. Consider for a minute one of the currently most popular words we hear in so many news reports, ‘transparency.’ “transparency: (1) the quality of allowing light to pass through so that objects behind can be distinctly seen: (2) the quality of being open to public scrutiny.” (Copilot Search)
Every time I think about light and darkness, I am reminded of at least 2 familiar (?) poetic lines. Dylan Thomas wrote Do not go gentle into that good night. It includes one of my favorite lines, “Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” I have no reason to suspect that Thomas was thinking about Lent or the words from John’s gospel, but that line always comes to my mind this time of year.
Another line I often quote is a tad more obscure. The “earliest instance that I have found is from the preface to The Magic Casement: An anthology of Fairy Poetry. Edited with an introduction, by Alfred Noyes . . . ‘And if that the bowle of curds and creame were not duly set out for Robin Good-fellow, why, then, “ware of bull-beggars, spirits,” etc. From Ghoulies and Ghoosties, long-leggety Beasties, and Things that go Bump in the night, Good Lord, deliver us!” (wordhistories.net)
This morning’s devotional in These Days is a reflection on the passage containing Ephesians 5:8 above. Lent is a very good time for Christians to consider what it means for us to “Live as children of light.”
The word light appears 236-272 times in the Bible, 23-25 times in John alone. Light imagery is almost always positive and associated with God and God’s Son, Jesus, the Christ.
Since the beginning of our faith, there have always been challenges, problems, things that go bump in the night. Since Christianity is a call to live our lives according to the teachings and the example of God’s Son, our bar has been set very high. Paul wrote, “Romans 3:21 But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, 23 since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Since all have sinned and fallen short, there is the temptation to give up and not even try. But, John reminds us that “the darkness did not overcome it.” To “Live as children of light” is to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and set out again to live as children of God, to rely on our faith in Jesus Christ, to believe, to do justice, love kindness and to walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8)
Stay safe, walk with God, trust God,
Pastor Ray