Advent Devotional – December 14

The mystery of light

Light! What a cool subject. I think about light all the time. Now you know what I do when I have mind-numbing duties such as scrubbing the fellowship hall floor or feeding another 1,000 feet of Cat 6e network cable above the ceiling tiles. I use this time to think about things. Light is one of those things.

The human race thinks it is so smart. We live in the 21^st century defined by our technological achievements in the sciences. We marvel in our medical knowledge, which enhances our quality and quantity of life. We fling ourselves off planet Earth into outer space. But we cannot define one of the most essential and elementary things as light. Is light a wave or is it a particle? Light remains a mystery even to this day.

Humans have five senses. If I had to choose only one of the five senses and so doing lose the other four, I would choose sight as my only sense. I choose sight because we perceive and understand the world primarily by sight, or more accurately, by light that reflects off the objects that surround us.

In my thinking moments about light I am intrigued how often the writers of the Bible use light in their story telling. Were they smarter than us 2,000 years ago or was it just the duality between good and evil? Could the storyteller have anticipated the mystery of light? Light plays an important role biblically in the telling of critical faith crossroads of man’s relationship with God and his love for man. Take a moment to find a verse in the Bible where light is used by the storyteller New Testament or Old Testament.

It is en“light”ening.

Thank you, Lord, for the Light of my world. May I reflect that gift in a wavelength that is satisfying in your sight. Amen.

Oscho Rufty