Turn on the Light

by Tad Lindley

In the beginning 

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 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. And God said, “Let there be light”, and there was light. (Genesis 1:1-3) This was before the sun, moon, or stars came into being, and yet there was light at the command of God. Whether some catastrophe happened to God’s original creation of the heavens and the earth that caused darkness to overwhelm everything, we will not know this side of glory. The fact remains though, God’s created universe was under the cloak of darkness. Only the Spirit of God could conquer the darkness.

The light that won’t go out

The gospel according to John turns from creation of the physical universe to the spiritual realm and the darkness in the hearts of men. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…all things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness and darkness comprehendeth it not. (John 1:1,3-5) Another translator wrote it like this, The light shines in the dark, and the dark has never extinguished it. (John 1:5 God’s Word)

Jesus is the light

John makes it clear that this light that came into the world is none other than Jesus Christ. Look at your Bible for a moment. Drop down to John 1:9. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not, but as many as received him, to them gave he the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. (John 1:9-12) And if that does not convince you that Jesus is the light, then how about his own words? I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. (John 8:12)

Light is for people in the dark

Speaking prophetically about the day when God would be manifest in the flesh, the prophet Isaiah wrote, The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. (Isaiah 9:2) Isaiah wrote lots more about Jesus, here’s another prophecy, I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth. (Isaiah 9:6).

Do you need a light?

The Bible teaches us that the way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble. But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. (Proverbs 4:19,18) When we are caught in a cycle of sin, we stumble over and over again, not knowing why we stumble. We point the finger at everyone else, refusing to take responsibility for our own actions. And so we stumble again and again, like one walking in darkness. We need the light.

Turn on the light

One of the most beautiful passages in the the Bible is found in I Peter 2:9: But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praise of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. It’s beautiful, because we didn’t feel like a chosen generation when we woke up in our own vomit. We didn’t feel like a royal priesthood when our third divorce was finalized. We didn’t feel like a holy nation when we were sitting in the back of the police car in handcuffs. We didn’t feel like a God’s special possession when our name was in the newspaper. But God has called us out of that darkness and into his marvelous light!

If you are stumbling in darkness right now, call upon Jesus, he is the light. In the famous words of the prophet Micah, Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me. Turn on the light!

Tad Lindley is a minister at the United Pentecostal Church in Bethel, AK.