The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. Genesis 1: 2-4, NKJV.
Merciful God, please speak to our hearts as we study Your Word. A word from You will make all the difference in the world! In the holy name of Jesus Christ, Your Son, we humbly pray. Amen.
This morning as I took up my Bible to study, my eyes rested on some notes at the bottom of my Bible. These were notes that I had taken in one of my Old Testament classes with Dr. Wonil Kim, one of the Old Testament professors at my alma mater, La Sierra University. It was a small chart with three parts: Darkness and chaos – Creation – Sabbath. At that moment, it suddenly dawned on me, that this is the order of things, not only in the creation of the world, but also in the spiritual re-creation of a soul! Translated into our spiritual experience these three phases represent: Sin – Redemption – Rest!
Before Christ comes into our lives we are really in darkness, no matter how well ordered our lives seem to be. Some may say, “Well before I met Jesus, I was a very “good” person. I did wrong to no one.” Wasn’t that the answer the rich young ruler gave Jesus (19: 20)? Prior to this, the Savior had said to him: “No one is good but One, that is, God” (Matthew 19: 17). Besides, let us not forget, that even though “darkness was on the face of the deep[,]” “the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” In other words, we were never left in complete darkness! Glory be to God! Of Jesus it was said, “The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world” (John 1: 9). Therefore, anything that we did, before coming to Christ, that was worthy of mention, was done because the “Spirit of God was hovering” over us! It was not of ourselves “lest any man (or woman) should boast” (Ephesians 2: 9)!
Then, into our darkness, “God said, ‘ “Let there be light;” and there was light.” ‘ Thank God for “Jesus, the Light of the world!” Thank God for the light of God’s Word! Thank God for the light that comes from being in His presence, in prayer. Thank God for calling us out of darkness, into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2: 9)! Praise God, that, the entrance of His Word gives light! Whenever, and whatever, God speaks into our experience, if heeded, will make so many things clear to us, in the light of His Word! Things that we never understood while we leaned on our own understanding (Proverbs 3: 5), becomes clear when God says it!
When God sees that the light “is good,” and He separates the “light from the darkness,” we enter into rest. This rest is only possible to those who know the Lord. The prophet Isaiah puts it this way: “But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt” (Isaiah 57: 20, emphasis provided). Even our best intentions produce only mire and dirt, if we do not have the “Light of the world” in our lives, to separate the light from the darkness! Rest, true rest, is only possible, in Christ. That is why the rich young ruler went away sorrowful. He wanted to enter God’s kingdom by his own efforts. But our best efforts are loaded with “mire and dirt.”
The “treasures” of this world will blind us to the things of real value. That is why we need divine light to be able to distinguish between the true and the false. Scripture informs us: “Jesus said to him, ‘ “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” ‘ But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions” (Matthew 19: 21, 22, emphasis provided). Even though he had been a “good boy” from his youth, he still abode in darkness. His darkness would have been expelled, and he would have begun enjoying an eternal rest in God’s kingdom of grace, and would have been assured of entrance into the kingdom of glory, had he heeded Christ’s invitation to, “come follow Me.”
We do well to accept Christ’s invitation, for “God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1: 5). So be ready to obey when God speaks!