"Not with drums, light comes. lit is gentle, unobtrusive It will not open doors or go around corners like sound does, but it will enter every place that is open." These, as I recall, are the first lines of a poem that I enjoyed, long ago, but unfortunately, can't find now. However, the thought about light has lingered, especially as to how it relates to God We read in Romans 1.20, "The invisible things of God are seen and understood by the things that are made," (things we can see). First off, we know that God is light, (1 John 1:5 and John 8:12), so it's certain we can learn much from light. The first characteristic of light is its invisibility We don't see light. We see the objects that reflect light. God, as a Spirit, is invisible, but He can be seen as reflected in His people. The moon is another example of reflected light. The second characteristic of light is what has already been alluded to in the poem. Light is gentle. It doesn't force its way into any place. It's not like sound, which to me can be torturous at times! How like God this is. In 1 Thessalonians 2:7 & 11, Paul tells how he treated his converts: "We were as gentle with you as a nurse and as a father." These words came from a former murderer. This is the change that takes place when one lets the light in. He becomes as gentle as light. Isaiah 42:1-4 said about Jesus, "He will not fight nor shout nor crush the weak or quench hope." Any opaque surface can stop light. And God, having given man free will, allows him to block out the light, but warns of the consequences. The third characteristic of light is also alluded to in the poem. Light goes in straight lines. It doesn't turn corners. John the Baptist, the introducer of Jesus, went straight to his task and he went straight to the problem. He called a spade a spade. "You snakes," He said to the Pharisees. (Matthew 3:7) Jesus also went straight to His task. In Mark 1:10, He was baptized in water and straightway He was baptized in the Spirit; in verse 12, He straightway was driven into the wilderness to be tested; in verse 20, He straightway called the disciples; in verse 21, He straightway went into the Synagogue and taught; in verse 28, His fame immediately spread abroad; in verse 31, He immediately healed the sick. In Luke 4:28 & 29, they mobbed Him and tried to kill Him, and in verse 30, He walked straight through them! The fourth characteristic is its mystery. Believe it or not, no one knows what light is. There are theories, but no agreement. It is shrouded in mystery. How fitting a picture of God. Isaiah 45:15 says, "God hides Himself." For thousands of years people have looked for God in all the wrong places and, of course, they can't agree on who or what God is. God does proclaim Himself to be mysterious. 1 Corinthians 2:7 says, "We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery." Romans 11:33 says, "His ways are past finding out." 1 Timothy 3:16 says, "Great is the mystery of Godliness." Isaiah 55:9 says, "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my thoughts than yours." To those who can't find time for God, He will always be a mystery, but to those who seek Him, He may be found (Isaiah 55:6) Where do you seek Him? In the Bible. God's Word is Spirit and light. (John 6:63) The fifth characteristic of light is that it is our only source of life. The magic word is photosynthesis. It means put together with light! Without it, we wouldn't have anything to eat. It happens in plants. We should acknowledge this miracle every day, at least when we sit down to eat! Likewise, the only source of eternal life is Jesus. The miracle of the incarnation and substitutionary atonement, alone gives us salvation. John 1:4 says, "In Him (Jesus) was life and the life was the light of men." We can turn this around and say in Him was light and the light was the life of men. The light, the life and the Word are all the same. Psalm 119:5 says, "Thy Word is a lamp and a light." Psalm 119:130 says, "The entrance of Thy Word giveth light." Matthew 4:16 says, "People that sat in the dark saw the light." That is, they heard the Word of God. They saw the righteousness and holiness of God, compared to the darkness, evil, impurity and wickedness of Satan. If they accepted the truth, they became children of light. (1 Thessalonians 5:5) In this physical world, we can't live without sunlight. In the spiritual world, we can't live without Son light. The sixth characteristic of light is that it is our only source of water, which makes it as important as photosynthesis. The magic words are evaporation and condensation. The sun draws up the water from the earth and returns it as the gentle rain. Question: How many thank the Lord for a rainy day? The Lord uses showers as an illustration of the moving of His Spirit. "My speech shall distill as showers on the grass." (Deuteronomy 32:2) "There shall be showers of blessing." (Ezekiel 34:26) "Ask the Lord for rain — He shall give showers of rain." (Zechariah 10:1) "As the rain comes down - so shall my Word be --." (Isaiah 55:10) "He will give you the former rain and the latter rain. I will pour out my Spirit." (Joel 2:23 & 28) "He will rain righteousness on you." (Hosea 10:12) Pray much for raia The seventh characteristic of light is a very personal one. Light enables us to see. Where would we be without sight? How would we know where we were going? Everyone agrees that physical sight is absolutely necessary- But, how many agree that to know aboutvJesus and heaven, and Satan and hell, and how to make the transfer from one to the other is even more important? Jesus said it would be much better to be blind physically than to be blind spiritually. (Mark 9:47) Of the Christian He says, "You were darkness, now you are light." (Ephesians 5:8) Paul said he never stopped "Praying for his people that the eyes of their understanding be enlightened, they would know the hope of God's calling and the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints." (Ephesians 1:18) The eighth characteristic of light is its healing quality. Years ago it was considered important to get as much sunshine as possible. Today, they're not so sure. But everyone will agree that sunlight has a cheerful, uplifting effect on people. We never welcome an overcast day with, "What a beautiful day!" Malachi 4:2 says, "Unto you that fear my'name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in His wings." When He comes to the world or to the individual, He will dispel all darkness and wickedness and evil and disease and pollution that today engulf the world (and individuals). The ninth characteristic is its spectrum of colors. By passing a light through a prism, the light is divided into a band of colors, from infrared to ultraviolet, God used the prism shape of raindrops to give us the rainbow. We remember Joseph's coat of many colors and the colors used in the tabernacle. All of them are significant and should be studied in a later article. The tenth characteristic is the speed of light. In an instant, it can go around the world more than seven times - 186,000 miles per second. God is omnipotent, so we must believe that anything He wants to do can be done in an instant, including creating the world. This might stretch your thinker, which is good. There is a reference to Satan flying out of heaven like lightning, (Luke 10:18), also to our change occurring in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. (1 Corinthians 15:52) The eleventh characteristic of light is a recent development called the laser beam, meaning the amplification of light into a narrow, intense beam, which can burn a hole in a diamond! That sounds pretty frightening. We can only hope it will be used for good purposes. This does tell us that God can do anything with speed and great power. We all know about the flood and should know what's ahead for the world. In 2 Peter 3:10, we read, "The day of the Lord will come as a thief- in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise and the elements shall melt with fervent heat." This is a grim reminder of how dark the world is and what payday will be like. To shorten this study, we will bunch up a few more characteristics and challenge you to see the spiritual correlation: I Light is usually accompanied by warmth. 2 Light is free (not like coal, oil, lumber, etc.) 3 The sun has a tremendous gravitational force, holding the planets in their orbits. (Are we in His orbit?) 4 Light is everywhere. The highest-powered telescopes report lights as far as they can see. 5 Light is a reward. Daniel 12:3 says, "They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of die firmament and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever." We conclude with two quotes: Matthew 6:22 says, "The light of the body is the eye. If the eye be single (a narrow beam - only have eyes for Jesus), the body will be full of light," and Matthew 5:16 says, "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father."