This March 12th is one of my favorite days of the year because it is Daylight Saving Time in the United States. Living in New York City means that we will get an extra hour of daylight in the evening. In other words, we will get more light at night.
It is interesting to note that the first command that God issued in the Bible can be found in (Genesis 1:3) where we read: “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” Not only that But God proclaimed that light was good: “God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.” (Genesis 1:4).
I have often wondered, since our light sources today, the sun and moon, were not created until day four, what this original source of light, on days one through three, must have been. Perhaps it is the same light source that we see in the New Jerusalem at the end of the age, where we read: “I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there.” (Revelation 21:22-25). In both cases the light source must have been the glory of the Lord!
I love what we read at the end of (Revelation 21:23): “…and the Lamb is its lamp.” In other words, the light of Jesus is powerful enough to light up the entire universe! And as ambassadors for Christ, we as Christians, in some small measure can also reflect the light of Christ to a world that in living in total darkness. Our job as Christians is to always confront darkness with the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And the more we radiate our light the more we glorify our Father in heaven; who is the ultimate source of eternal light.
In closing, I would like to share one of the most beautiful quotes I have seen on what it means to be a light source for Jesus:
“Let your light shine. Do not obstruct it, or hide it, or mingle darkness with it. ‘Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee’ (Isa. 60:1). It is the light of love that you have received; let it shine. It is the light of truth; let it shine. It is the light of holiness; let it shine. And if you ask, How am I to get the light, and to maintain it in fulness? I answer, ‘Christ shall give you light’ (Eph. 5:14). There is light enough in Him who is the light of the world. ‘The Lamb is the light thereof’ (Rev. 21:23). There is no light for man but from the Lamb. It is the cross, the cross alone, that lights up a dark soul and keeps it shining, so that we walk in light as He is in the light; ‘for God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.’”1 ― Horatius Bonar