What Does The Bible Say About Light And Darkness?
What Does The Bible Say About Light And Darkness? Brad compares and contrasts the two and reminds us that Jesus is the Light of the World.
Brad offers up practical, scriptural advice from a perspective borne out of everyday life encounters. As we live and move and have our being…it’s the individual life lessons that most often present the greatest challenges, but can yield the richest blessings. We’ve all, as Christians had those faith affirming moments, where we’ve had an overwhelming sense of God’s spirit, or his very presence “at a particular but, maybe random time”.
Darkness Scares Us
Darkness scares us. It scares us from the time we’re young children, and throughout our lives. As a kid, do you remember ever calling out, Mom, I can’t sleep. If you did, chances are it wasn’t that you had insomnia, or drank too much coffee….it was that you were scared of the dark.
BIBLE speaks of Darkness hundreds of times. And it’s never GLORIFIED or Celebrated.
In John 8:12, Jesus said “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
The Bible, from the earliest of passages, gives us indications that darkness is a scary thing. In Genesis, it says “And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, ( are you listening to this next part???) an horror of great darkness fell upon him.”
Darkness being described as a HORROR. That’s chilling.
1st John 1:5…God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
Light Came Into the World
As Christians, when we think of the light that came into the world, which is Christ, to say his name JESUS/ & the word DARKNESS… it’s like they don’t belong in the same sentence. Polar opposites…. MAGNETS opposing one another.
Now (don’t do this if driving ) but for a real experience of darkness….If we Close our eyes, and Put our PALMS over eyes, and PRESS in firmly. We get a true sense of darkness, at least from an aesthetic experience. It’s DARKNESS PRESSING…ALL SIDES
And if we sit that way, our palms pressed firmly against our closed eyes, Darkness = Separation. Sense of sight removed.
More than sight…It Effects HEART … our mind… JOY …, …. our Psyche
BUT WORSE…Bible equates darkness with eternal judgement and torment and HELL
Speaks of the unrepentant being cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Those words as a kid always sent chills, and they still do. Unsettling. Sad.
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The Grace of God
Recently, I was asked by two dear friends; sisters, to sing at their moms’ funeral service. Their mom, who I knew as well, was a dear Christian lady, and had served faithfully in her church, and had been an inspiration to many. She had succumbed to a very brief, but brave battle with cancer. The sisters, throughout the course of their moms’journey from this world, into the place that God has gone to prepare for her, shared moments that gave me goosebumps. They testified to the grace of God throughout the entire process, and the strength that he gave their mother, to accept, and embrace the fact that her time to be called home with the Lord, had come.
Like many funeral services paying homage to a Christian, a CHRIST one…this was a true celebration of life. I left that day feeling so blessed to have been invited into that moment, to experience and bear witness first hand, the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen…. his spirit bearing witness with our spirits…in that moment of grief, giving hope, promise, and comfort.
Amazing Grace
I contrast this, that same week, with my wife’s uncles’ death. A declared atheist, no service by a minister, no words of comfort, no rejoicing at things unseen. Only grief, and loss, and hopefully a realization to those present, that all things in the end boil down to the solemn truth, that whether rich or poor, prince or pauper, successful or meager, we all face death. weeping/wailing, gnashing of teeth.
The beloved, and most well know Christian hymn AMAZING GRACE…. demonstrates the OPPOSITES of light and darkness
I Once was lost/but now am found, was Blind (darkness) but now I See (light) the light of Christ
LIGHT and DARKNESS…. Complete Opposites from Beginning.
GEN 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
2nd thing mentioned is DARKNESS
2 And the earth was WITHOUT form, and void; and DARKNESS was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
VOID… Without FORM (Darkness associated with a NEGATIVE connotation)
Remember OLD DAYS/ actual kodak paper Photos, (Color print was) bright,
…. NEGATIVES…dark, spooky quality.
SO, EARTH WAS IN DARKNESS Gen 2.
And God said, let there be light: and there was light. God CREATED heaven/earth, DARKNESS was present…. and then the 2nd act of creation was LIGHT.
We noted that DARKNESS was the 2nd thing mentioned, not created.
It existed, in the absence of light.
- The color White reflects light it’s the presence of all colors,
- but Black absorbs light / absence of all color.
REMINDED… of sin. Absorbing light, saturating our body…sin upon sin, blackness…. Absorbing any presence of light.
The bible says…men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light,
So, from the very onset of creation, God defined light as good, and separated it from darkness. That distinction remains.
So let’s be reminded today of the word of God, when it tells us,
12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of DARKNESS, and let us put on the armour of LIGHT.
Brad Hewey
Brad was born and still resides in a small community in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia, where he and his wife Karen raised their 3 children. Brad & Karen fellowship at the Greenland Bible Chapel, where Brad serves as an elder.
Brad loves meeting and engaging with people. His background in sales has provided opportunities to travel throughout the US and Canada, networking with people from all walks of life. Brad is a singer/songwriter, and has recorded 3 Christian albums. Songs from his “Brighter Day” release, have aired on Christian Radio stations across Canada and two of Brad’s albums are on HopeStreamRadio’s playlist.
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Images Courtesy Of:
Light through the trees – Fotoworkshop4You
Light through Fall trees – gewa
Earth and Moon – qimono
Tarantula Nebula – skeeze
John Cox says
While contemplating the Corona virus, this thought came to me: I didn’t know where they came from. They just came. Afterwords, I was thinking about my years in Sunday school and church where we used the King James Bible, which has generally been used by Presbyterians since it was published in 1611 under the sponsorship of King James VI of Scotland, later King James I of England and Scotland.
I opened my Bible and found this passage: “And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” – The Gospel of St. John – 1:5. Coincidence, or did those years in Sunday School and church stick with me?
Deborah Piggott (HSR admin) says
Hi John,
God’s word does penetrate our hearts and minds even as little children, giving us reassurance and strength in times of need. My husband was raised in Belfast and remembers going Sunday afternoons to the children’s Sunday School program at the Presbyterian Church! He too can draw on scriptures learned many years ago. What a blessing and good work those faithful teachers do. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and verse.