Jesus Lighted Creation

What Did Jesus Do?

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
Genesis 1.3

The first order of business for the God who was, excuse me, is, is-ness, was for His Word to make manifest light in and for all of creation. What good creation if it is hidden in utter darkness? So God said, “Let it be,” and it was/is.

God did not strike a match, ignite a candle, or flip a switch. The Father spoke, and the Son, who delights in doing the will of the Father, obediently manifested what the Father had spoken. We might even say that the Son was/is the very manifestation of what the Father spoke/speaks, that is, the Son is the Word of the Father.

John essentially tells us as much in the prologue of his Gospel:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.
John 1.1-3

If I may be allowed to offer my own translation of John 1.1-3,

In the beginning was the Son, and the Son was with the Father, and the Son and Father were one. The Son was in the beginning with the Father. All things the Father made he made through the Son, and without the Son not anything was made that was made.

The first thing the Father made through the Son was light. Light that shines in and dispels darkness. And, try as it might, the darkness has never yet succeeded in overcoming the light and regaining ascendancy.

Light is, of course, energy not matter. Yet the Father was pleased to direct the Son to become substantial light, light, if you will, that lived and breathed and dwelt amongst us; and the Son thereby allowed us to see the grace and truth-filled glory of the Father. (John 1.14) Without the light of the Son, it would be impossible to know or see the Father, and all creation would be lost in deep and measureless darkness.

Because the Son knew that he would be in the world for only a brief time, He told His disciples they would have to be the light of the world. (See Matthew 5.14-16) As the Son, when He was in the world, had made it possible for the world to see the glory of the Father, so should those who bear the name of the Son shine their light in the world to the glory of their Father in heaven.

While darkness cannot overcome the light, it is possible that the light can be hidden, shielded in such a way that darkness can appear to prevail. But, when even the tiniest light is permitted to shine, it immediately diminishes the darkness. Shining light in darkness typically causes much initial discomfort for those who have been in the darkness; they might even seek to extinguish the light, as the world sought to be rid of the light of Jesus, the Son. We, whom the Son has called to be the light of the world might find it easier to put our light under a basket than to let it shine. The Son, knowing that it was the Father’s will that light should fill the world and all of creation, did not fear to let his light shine, though the world would despise and kill him for it. What of our light, do we let it shine for all to see the glory of God the Father? That’s what Jesus did.

S.D.G.

Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4