God is Light!

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Psalm 27:1

 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

  That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

John 1:4-5,9 

 

Lunar eclipse

What do you picture when you picture God?  A wounded man on a cross?  A huge man with a flowing white beard sitting on a throne?  A warrior with thunderbolts in his fist?  Morgan Freeman?  

Do you know what God really looks like?  He is so bright that when Moses came down from Mount Sinai from speaking with Him, Moses' face shone so much that he had to wear a veil so he didn't scare the people of Israel!  (Exodus 34:29-35)

What do we know about light?  First of all, light dispels darkness, not the other way around.  If you go into a dark room holding a light, it lightens the whole room.  Even a tiny light will make the whole room a little bit lighter.  Anytime you add light, the darkness goes away.  But it doesn't work the same with darkness, does it?  You can't bring a piece of dark into a room and have the light go away.  Because light is something, but darkness is nothing.  It is only the absence of light.  

You can, however, block light.  If you put something in front of a light source, it casts a shadow.  If you put something all around a light source, the light will still be there, but you won't be able to see it.  

So, you can't get rid of light.  It is always there.  But you can block it so that you can't see it.  

It is the same with God.  Nothing we do can get rid of God.  The worst demons in hell can't get rid of God.  They are there because they have already been defeated.  They were put in a dark place outside of God's light.  

Sometimes we put ourselves in a dark place outside of God's light.  We build up a barrier to block His light.  We live so much on a physical plane that we can't see the spiritual.  So we put all sorts of stuff in between ourselves and God.  Of course, we want God, but we also want _________________.  Maybe it's a house, or clothes, or money, or food, or a significant other.  It might be books or our favorite TV show or music.  Maybe it's a nice yard.  Maybe it's a family.  Maybe it's "me-time."  Maybe it's our health.  We all have different "stuff" that is important to us.  

God never said we couldn't have "stuff."  He knows that we are mortal, and have need of things or our mortal bodies will literally die!  He would not expect us to live all alone on the North Pole with no food, clothing, or shelter.  The problem comes when we make our "stuff" to be more important than God.  When we refuse to give something up even if we realize it goes against God's principles.  When we refuse to help someone else because we are selfishly keeping everything for ourselves.  When we spend all of our time worrying about things we want or need.  When we spend time that we should be praying or reading our Bibles or going to church doing things that we think are more fun, or that make our physical selves more comfortable.  

Do you want to see God?  Really see Him?  Break down those walls that you have set up around yourself!  Spend time just praising Him, not asking Him for more "stuff."  Accept what He has for you.  Stop looking at the world around you for the standards you live by.  Look to God.  Read His Word and then ask Him to clarify it for you.  Spend time with other Christians by getting involved in a local church.  And when you go to that church, don't look at the other people with your physical eyes, noticing all of their idiosyncrasies or their "hypocritical" behavior.  Look at them with spiritual eyes.  They are hurting, searching people just like you who are trying to find the way to God.  If you look closely, you can see God's light shining off of them, just like it did from Moses, or as the moon reflects the light of the sun.  

And above all, don't be afraid of the darkness.  Remember - it is nothing!  It is only the absence of God in your life.