The Bible consistently, through different books written in different times and in different cultures, describes God as light. (See the appendix that follows this post) It’s an unavoidable, unmistakable, frequently repeated, theme, so God apparently thinks it’s very important for us to know that about Him.
So how do we respond? What practical, behavior altering, guidance can we draw from it? Two things come to mind.
The first is that we have to be careful about letting the world get between us and God. That can happen lots of ways, though over commitment, too much media, and materialism, to name a few. If we get into the world’s shadow we don’t receive the full measure of His light. We end up like a less than full moon—at least partially in the dark and reflecting far less of God’s light than we otherwise could. That hurts us and others.
The second is that we can’t let ourselves get between God’s light and those around us. We can do so in multiple ways: by pride, anger, lust, greed, impatience, laziness (among other things). They effectively put God in (at least) second place to our desires. That obscures His goodness in us, and effectively casts our shadows on the parts of the world He wants illuminated, like the moon during a solar eclipse.
APPENDIX
The following verses describe God or Jesus as light or as providing light to guide us. The hyperlinks go to the chapter containing the verse or verses, presented in the King James Version. Other translations can be seen by scrolling down the page brought up by the hyperlink.
If the citation is to multiple verses, the alternate translations are provided for what seems to be the key verse. Alternate translations for other verses can be found by clicking on the “v” box to the left of the verse you are interested in.
If the citation is to multiple verses, the alternate translations are provided for what seems to be the key verse. Alternate translations for other verses can be found by clicking on the “v” box to the left of the verse you are interested in.
God/Jesus as Light
God, Jesus, or God’s truth as providing light for our guidance
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