day no. 12,905: the flames borrows their rays‏

So I began reading the Old Testament again and thought I would just start, “In the beginning…”

Here’s what I observed tonight.

Genesis 1:3-5

³ Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ⁴ God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light “day,” and He called the darkness “night.” Evening came and then morning: the first day.

On the first day, God created light. God created light because He is light. He possesses within Himself light. He can make it because He has it. Also interesting to note is that whatever this light is that burst forth into our world, it did so apart from the sun, stars or the moon. Those were not yet created.

Genesis 1:16-19

¹⁶ God made the two great lights—the greater light to have dominion over the day and the lesser light to have dominion over the night—as well as the stars. ¹⁷ God placed them in the expanse of the sky to provide light on the earth, ¹⁸ to dominate the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. ¹⁹ Evening came and then morning: the fourth day.

So light in general borrows its glory from God and the sun, moon and stars borrow their light from the light that borrows its light from God. The sun is not bright because it is. It is bright because God makes it bright.

Revelation 22:5

Night will no longer exist, and people will not need lamplight or sunlight, because the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign forever and ever.

The Bible is bookended with light and God and the absence of anything artificial required to mediate it. Genesis 1 is the first chapter in the Bible and Revelation 22 is the last chapter in the Bible and they both articulate beautifully that true light is from God and if we have nothing but Him, we have light enough to see everything valuable.

In God we have a Source of everlasting brilliance that will never go out, dim, grow weak, extinguish, etc… He shines continuously forever.

John 8:12

Then Jesus spoke to them again: “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows Me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.”