Light of the World

I should probably have my husband write this post. He knows more about light than I ever will. His job is to convince people that they need to buy light. Heh. Makes endo research sound pretty simple.

Nevertheless, here are some (I think) interesting tidbits about light:

1. Light travels in a straight line along a ray. The ray itself is imaginary; its only purpose is to describe the path of the light.
2. You cannot see light as it travels. Do you remember those science fiction programs where the good guys fired the laser at the bad guys, and you could see the beam of light leaving the "gun" and traveling across to hit the villian? Impossible. You can only see light if it is reflected back to you.
3. Light is composed of the different colors of the rainbow -- not always in an equal measure.
4. The color you see is dependant upon what colors the object reflecting the light absorbs (for example, a blue ball reflects blue light and absorbs all the other colors). The preceived color of an object is also dependant upon the light which strikes the object (right, S?). That's why a pair of pants that look blue in the store will be purple outside. (They really are purple -- you just bought purple pants -- the only way for them to be blue is if you only wear them in the store).

OK, enough physics.

John 8:12: When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

Matthew 5:14-16: "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

I taught a Sunday school lesson a couple of months ago based on Psalm 139. I like verse 12: even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. (note: 'you' in this passage is God)

"For darkness is as light to you." The writer of one the curriculum books said that there is no darkness for God, for he is light. Is darkness the absence of light? My light-selling husband would tell you that this is correct, I think.

God may not know darkness, but we do. If God is light, and darkness is the absence of light, then our darkness might be described as the absence of God. According to this source, "Jesus came to earth to show men that God loved them and to demonstrate what he was prepared to do to have a relationship with them. In a dark, dark world, that revelation was like a piercing bright light." Once Jesus left, we became the light to the world. But how do we do that?

So, when I don't understand something, I am apt to "run home" to what I kind of understand, so let's go back to the physics (Stop that moaning).

If God is the source of the light, then we are reflective Christians, sharing His light with others by reflectance (is that a word? You know what I mean). Light is made up of many colors, so how we reflect it will, in part, be based on us -- we all reflect the light in different ways. The purpose, though, is for the people of the world to know that God is the light, and that we are sharing His light with them. In this way, they will know that God is the source of the light.

Yes, OK, it's getting abstract and odd. So let me change it just a little:

If God is the source of the love, then we are reflective Christians, sharing His love with others by reflectance. Love is made up of many colors (de colores), so how we reflect is will, in part, be based on us -- we all share love in different ways. The purpose, though, is for the people of the world to know that God loves us all, and that we are sharing His love with them. In this way, they will know that God is the source of love.

God loves us -- he wants a relationship with us, providing us with light in our darkness (love in our shadows). And everyone else, well, it's our job to convince them that they need light. "They will know we are Christians by our love."

As an extra, here's a really cool devotion about light.
How about a song? Light of the World
Image sources: here and here and here.