These were the classes that made the school day worthwhile: Math, English, and French. It’s because of the ‘lightbulb.’ You know that moment when the new math concept fell into place and the all-important light came on? Or, when the verb conjugating finally made sense and the joy-rush of comprehension made its appearance, lighting you up, eager for the next challenge. Now, sadly, History and the Sciences represented far fewer of those exhilarating ‘aha’ moments. There, the fog was too dense, and the details of which king did what to whom to win an unknown battle, remain forever in the domain of mystery (there were far too many Richards, Henrys and Louis!) And science labs were on a blurry par with history classes. So, let’s go where the light shines brighter and solve a few simultaneous quadratic equations just for fun, OK? (I know, this is not what charges everybody’s batteries, so, off you go to your academic happy place).
One thing most would agree on is that light is good. Moonlight. Sunlight. Starlight. Streetlight. Ceiling light. Candlelight. Firelight. All types of light are attractive. Some are breathtaking. Some are useful for tasks like reading books or driving nails or finding your way back to your camp cabin. Some are good for ambiance or romance.
God’s love story is filled with the contrast of darkness and light with darkness representing His absence and light representing His presence. Isaiah’s prophecy of the coming of the Messiah speaks of a people walking in the absence of God, and the presence of the Messiah as the appearance of great light (9:2). Later in his prophecies, Isaiah speaks of the people’s mission as bringing God’s presence to the nations walking in God’s absence (42:6, 49:6). Seven hundred years later, Jesus speaks to his gathered disciples, telling them they are to be his lighted torch bearers everywhere they go (Acts 1:8). And this Living Word lands compellingly in our laps today with its enduring call to walk out our lives as lighted torch bearers, shining with the presence of God in us. Jesus told his disciples: “And never forget that I am with you every day, even to the completion of this age.” (Matt. 28:20). Looking forward to seeing all you beautifully-lit torches tomorrow, 10 AM, 3 PM, 4 PM. PD
