Life in the Light

There is a real joy in the gift of light.

From morning sunrise, to the warmth of the afternoon light, to the spectacular colours at dusk, and even to the milky nighttime light from the moon and stars, light is ever changing, yet constant; life-giving, and joy-giving.

In the Scriptures, light captures a little of God’s character. For like light, He is pure and life-giving. Like the light of the sun, He is constant.

God’s light can shine into darkness and create something new.

Isaiah 60 is a description of the coming splendour of the future Zion, the New Jerusalem. The Gentiles will come to God’s city not only to worship God, but to offer him their wealth. God’s city will be built, its walls and gates fortified, its streets filled with peace and praise.

Then Isaiah says about God’s city, “The sun shall no longer be your light, nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you” (60:19). When we’re living in the New Jerusalem, there will be a radical change in our light source. We won’t be reliant on the sun to wake us in the morning, nor dependent on the power grid to keep the lights on at night. But God will be our light! Lit by the radiance of the Lord, in the glow of his glory.

To explore this, ponder the alternative to living in God’s light. Isaiah said in chapter 9 that we were a people who “once walked in darkness” (9:2), lost in the deep gloom of wickedness. Outside the light of God’s presence, there is only confusion and fear and stumbling.

So it’s very good news for those walking in darkness: they will see a great light! Chapter 60 begins the same way, “Arise, shine; for your light has come!” It’s almost as if Christ wakes us from a long slumber. When you close your eyes to sleep, everything goes black. But Christ says to us:

“Rise and shine, your light has come!”

And what is that light? It’s not the light your mom flicks on to get you out of bed. It’s not the light of the sun, constant in the sky. But the day will come when “the glory of the LORD is risen upon you” (v. 1). That verse brings to mind a sunrise, how the sun chases away every dark shadow of night as it gradually ascends into the sky, lighting the whole landscape.

Like the splendid sun, God’s glory will rise over Zion forever. Yet it won’t be the sun, but something far better! In this sinful world, when the sun goes down there are suddenly new threats. In the darkness, there is danger. In the darkness, you can stumble. In the secrecy of darkness, sin thrives. So even the good light that we have is flawed. The moon disappears behind clouds, the sun’s light fades, the power goes off and isn’t restored.

But God will give a greater light, and that eternal light will be himself! The familiar sources will be replaced, surpassed by one light that is new and divine, a light more perfect in every way. For eternity God’s glory will fill heaven and earth. ‘No more sun, no more moon, but the LORD will be to you an everlasting light’ (v. 19).

So often in the Scriptures, we said, God’s presence is marked by light. Think of the LORD’s pillar of fire as He led Israel through the wilderness. Think of the intense brightness that Ezekiel saw in his visions of God. Think of the shining cloud on the Mount of Transfiguration. God shows himself as light, and He is light:

The LORD is my light and my salvation (Ps 27:1).

 For like sun and moon are beautiful, God is beautiful. As the sun nurtures life, as the moon lights our way through the darkness, so God does. But unlike sun or moon, God is unfading, your everlasting light. We may bask in the light of the Lord, and that will be for us the essence of eternal life: to enjoy God’s presence, so near that we enjoy his radiant warmth, the sheer pleasure of standing before his face.

This is what God created us for in the beginning, and it is what He’s been restoring, because being near to God’s light is impossible for sinners like us. His glory is white hot and brilliant. Think of Moses, who was allowed to see only the back of God, yet his face was radiant with something like a holy sunburn for many days.

Scripture says that God lives in “unapproachable light,” yet He wants us to approach. Not consumed by his heat but healed by his grace. God lets us draw near through his Son, “the Light of the World” (Isa 49:6). When Christ came to earth, by his healing and teaching He brought light to those walking in his darkness.

But then for Christ, the lights went out. God withdrew himself from his Son, and the result of the absence of God was darkness, three hours that were like an eternity of condemnation. But then the darkness ended, because sin was paid for, and God’s presence restored.

Now, drawn to the light—drawn to God by his Spirit—sinners leave the darkness in order to enjoy the light of the LORD. The Lord is gracious to us and He makes his face to shine upon us.

In that reality is our beautiful expectation for the future. The end of the world culminates not in darkness, but in light. Because God will be there, and He will be with us.

Listen to what John says about the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21: “The city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine, for the glory of the LORD illuminates it.” Echoing what Isaiah said centuries before: no need for sun or moon, but only the glory of the LORD! Because of Christ, the Lamb of God who is the city’s light, we get to enjoy the light of God’s presence forever.

Christ has invited us to enjoy a place in God’s light forever. One day soon, it’s going to get so much better—better a million times over. “There shall be no night there,” Revelation says of the New Jerusalem (22:5), “no need for a lamp nor the light of the sun.” For the LORD God will be our light, and we will enjoy his glory forever!

So come to the light, and walk in the light, now and forever.