Thought for the Month - December 2012

"Light of the world" by Barry Adair
(You shine upon us)

I was thinking about LIGHT this last week or two. I think it was the ending of British Summer Time (BST) and the subsequent darker evenings that had put it into my head. And in light of this subject (sorry!), I've chosen yet another famous painting - "The Light of the World" by W.H. Hunt. I'm really not a secret art buff, honest, but I just had to include it for a couple of reasons which I'll come to later.

So what exactly is "light" anyway?

Light is an invention of God. It didn't just happen randomly and it wasn't always there. Away back in the distant past, God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. (Gen 1:3). Behind all this scientific talk of black holes or a Big Bang or the Higgs Boson (so called "God Particle") or quasars or whatever, there are fundamental and unchangeable laws that govern everything in the Universe. And the awesomeness, magnitude, beauty and design of that Universe all point to a magnificent Designer. Our Universe was created, even though many of its 'so called' cleverest creatures fail to acknowledge this!

Light was part of that wonderful creation. Without it we couldn't fully witness the world around us. I have often thought that losing your eyesight must be one of the hardest things for a human being to cope with.

What we call "light" is actually energy and is a tiny part of the Electromagnetic Spectrum. This small part is the bit that's visible to the human eye, ranging from red light to violet light with the rest of the rainbow colours in-between.

Talking about light, Jesus described Himself as the "Light of the world". These are His words from John 8:12…

"I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life."

He is the Light that was needed in a dark and sinful world. A world that had rejected God many generations ago in the Garden of Eden and in most cases continues to reject Him today.

Use of the word "light" is also used in describing true believers of Jesus…

"…prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world" (Phil 2:15)

"Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." (Matt 5:16)

We are to be lights in a dark world, pointing to Jesus as the only hope for mankind's eternal salvation.

Going back to the chosen picture for this month.

It is a famous painting by William Holman Hunt and is called "The Light of the world". So the first reason to include it is, of course, because of what it represents. Hunt shows Jesus as the Light of the world, a lantern in His hand wanting to illuminate the dark places of our souls.

The painting is also an interpretation of Revelation 3:20…

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me."

For the second reason, I need to take you back almost 40 years. A visiting Minister was taking our Primary School assembly and he brought a copy of this painting with him. He asked us to look closely at the door beside Jesus and tell him if we noticed anything odd. Well, we looked long and hard at the painting and didn't notice a thing. Even now I still remember him pointing out that there was no door handle on Jesus' side of the door. This door, he said, represented the barrier between us and the Lord Jesus Christ. If we want Jesus to come into our lives, although He could knock - and He does, it is up to us to use the handle on our side of the door if we want to let Him in.

Heard His knock again recently?
      Grasped the handle a few times only to let it go again?
            Need some Light into your darkened life?
                 Why not open the door and let Him in?

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me." (Rev 3:20)

"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life." (John 5:24)

And yet You became flesh, living as one of us
Under the shadow of the cross
Where, through the blood you shed, You have made peace again
Peace for a world that God so loves
Light of the world, light of the world
Light of the world, You shine upon us
                                    (Words by Chris Tomlin)

Talking of which, here is Matt Redmond and "Light of the world (You shine upon us)". Turn on your sound and click on the YouTube link below…

Until next year then (DV), and Happy Christmas from all at Grove Baptist Church.

(All Bible quotations are from the NASB)

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