I love ah-ha moments. I expect them literally every time I read from the Word. You see, God is not like man when it comes to what He says. Or, I should say, not like me. He doesn’t waste His words. So every book, every chapter, every verse, every word of His Word has been spoken and then written for a purpose.
Genesis 1:3
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening and there was morning—the first day.
Getting to the Root of it
The word “light,” found in Genesis 1:3 is, in Hebrew, “owr,” (transliterated and pronounced “ore”). Under the definitions (Strong’s #216)—and there are eleven—I find five that deserve a closer look:
1. Morning light
2. Light of a lamp
3. Light of life
4. Light of instruction
5. Jehovah as Israel’s Light
Light of Life
David—youngest son of Jesse, shepherd, musician and singer, writer and poet, killer of giants and bears and lions, warrior and beloved king of Israel, adored seeker of God’s heart—is a favorite study of mine. In the past—before these last few days—whenever I read verses attributed to him and his life, I would weep. I can’t explain it, exactly. Just something about living such a life as his and having had such an intimate relationship with God, stirs my heart.
“Before these last few days?” you ask. Yes. You see, this past weekend my father finished that great course called “life,” and went on to Glory with the Lord. On Tuesday I listened as pastors and friends remembered him at his funeral. Sitting in the pew marked for “family” and later on at the gravesite, I felt that same sweeping emotion that whispers, “This was a life well lived.”
It was also a life that stood in the Light.
Psalm 27
David began the song we call Psalm 27 with these words:
The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?
These words are also the beginning of my father’s favorite psalm. Both men understood that within the light is a believer’s strength because for them it was personal.
Notice again David’s words, “my” light. “My” salvation. “My” life. This song, a “song of cheerful hope ,” is written by a man who knows God individually. This is not about his father’s faith or the faith of his pastor or his friend down the street. It wasn’t the relationship God had with any of his brothers or with the king of Israel that moved him to write such powerful words. It was an experience with the Almighty in his life.
Light, Salvation, and Your Life
Have you ever sat in a room near the end of a day? Little by little the world grows dim. Perhaps you are reading a book. After awhile the words on the pages begin to fade and you reach over to the lamp nearby, switching on the light.
Now everything around you is illuminated. Words you struggled to read a mere second ago are visibly sharp. You blink as you raise your head and look about you. While you are bathed in the glow, the rest of the room continues to appear gray. Not that it matters, you only need enough light to read your book. Later, you’ll go for the overhead light switch. For now, this is enough.
At some point, you look around. Everything around you is so dark. When did that happen, you ask yourself. You rise and begin flipping on lights, one room at a time, and continue on.
The Ah-ha Moment
We sit in the shadow of our sin and are not even aware of it. Somehow, in the busyness of life, everything turns to gray and eventually so dark we can’t see through the gloom. We realize that we can’t go on like this. We can’t. We look around and nothing makes sense anymore. We need light to continue.
So we reach out. We take the “Switch” in our hand and—voila—there is light. It shines around us, illuminating the path just where we are. Then, little by little, as we become aware of the dark areas of our “house,” we request that the Light shine there as well.
While the Light shines for all, at the same time it shines solely on us and for us as individuals. We can now live, in spite of the darkness around us. It is the Light of our life.
And the life can be well lived within it.
Award-winning national speaker Eva Marie Everson is a graduate of Andersonville Theological Seminary. Her work includes Sex, Lies, and the Media (Cook) and The Potluck Club (Baker/Revell) She can be contacted for comments or for speaking engagement bookings at www.evamarieeverson.com.