Shining Our Light in the Darkness

And God saw the light, that it was good;

and God divided the light from the darkness (Genesis 1:4, NKJV).

With the dawn of another new year, I found myself back in Genesis, once again reading the glorious creation account. What a story! Unequaled in splendor or drama, we see our amazing God speak all of creation into existence—including light and darkness. And immediately after creating light, the Scriptures tell us that God “saw the light, that it was good,” and then He “divided the light from the darkness.”

Perhaps that statement could simply stand on its own—meaning that God provided for both day and night—but several other verses of Scripture (2 Corinthians 6:14; Ephesians 5:11; 1 John 1:5-6) declare that God is Light, that there is no darkness in Him at all, and that we, as His children, should also walk in the light and have no darkness within ourselves.

Now we know that we can’t avoid those who belong to the kingdom of darkness, nor should we, as we are called to shine the light on them and to help them find their way out of that darkness and back to God. But shining our light to dispel darkness is a far cry from stepping into and fellowshipping with that darkness. It is a distinction we dare not ignore as we move into a new year of serving God and living for Him.

I’m not much for New Year’s resolutions, as they usually fall by the wayside somewhere around mid-February. But this year I am determined to spend more time in the presence of the One who is Light and in whom there is absolutely no darkness at all. As a result, I believe His light will shine more brightly in me and will more effectively draw those who are lost in darkness. The worst thing I could do is to become enmeshed in even the slightest bit of that darkness myself and therefore prevent others from seeing it.

That is my determination for 2012, and I pray you will join me. Jesus said He was the Light of the world, but once He ascended into heaven He left the shining of that light to us. Will you join me in this determination to let our light shine in the darkness? I will pray for you to do so; will you also pray for me? For when God saw the light, He immediately declared that it was good.