The Light Shines in Darkness
Did you know a single candle can be seen from over a mile away in total darkness? In 2015, astronomers Krisciunas and Carona found its light visible up to 1.6 miles — and under perfect conditions, even farther. Physics tells us light is measurable energy, but darkness isn’t a “thing” at all — it’s merely the absence of light. As one of our Life Group members said last week, “We have flashlights, but there’s no such thing as flash-darks.”
John writes, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5).
That “true Light,” he continues, “which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world” (v. 9).
That Light is Jesus Christ — the eternal Word who became flesh. J. C. Ryle said, “Christ is to the souls of men what the sun is to the world.” He not only illuminates; He gives life.
Every sunrise testifies to that truth. Light sustains life on earth and without it, the planet would freeze and starve. Likewise, without the light of Christ, our souls remain cold and lifeless. And we would remain “dead in our trespasses and sins” (Eph 2). But when Jesus comes into the world He is “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). He reveals to us the Father, as no one living in darkness could see God until Christ came (v18).
Scripture says, “The god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers” (2 Cor 4:4), yet God “has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of His glory in the face of Jesus Christ” (v. 6). That means salvation is a miracle of illumination — a divine sunrise in the human heart.
And now Christ’s plan to spread that light is US! He calls His people “the light of the world” (Matt 5:14). We are lamps lit by His Spirit, meant to shine in workplaces, neighborhoods, and nations. God’s strategy for pushing back darkness isn’t a program; it’s His people who burn bright with the gospel.
You might feel like the only believer for miles — but even one candle changes the landscape. Darkness can never extinguish true light; it can only yield to it. As Charles Spurgeon said, “Christians are to the world what the moon is to the night—borrowing all their light from the sun.”
Paul concludes 2 Corinthians 4 by flipping our analogy of light on its head, which is fitting to think about as we consider where our lives are headed. He says, “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Cor 4:17–18).
The things that are actually “observed with our eyes in this world” are darkness. But the things that are spiritually unseen possess eternal luminescence. And as Isaiah 60:19–20 says, “The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end.”
Matthew 5:16, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
Pastor Caleb