Prayer
Lord God, I give you thanks for a new day of life, for the gifts of your grace. I give you thanks for your preserving grace and patience in my life. O Lord, as I come now to your word, please help me. As I seek to draw near to you, please quicken my dull heart, please enflame my cold affections. Please fill my eyes with the light of your countenance, please give me life – that your glory may glimmer and then shine through me. I confess, Lord, that is my desire, but I do not plead for the sake of my own satisfaction, but for the sake of the glory of your name, and for the sake of Christ who died for me. And in Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Reading
Psalm 19 & Luke 12.
Genesis 1:2-5.
“The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. 5. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.”
Meditation
Light is not the only feature of the first day, the text also relies on the contrast between light and darkness. In this meditation, we’ll take a moment to consider the significance and place of darkness. First, and most obviously, darkness is the absence of light. The picture in verse two is one of a formless world, an empty void. To begin with, there was an absence of light. Darkness is not a thing in and of itself, it is not a substance but an absence. With this in mind, we may draw a second powerful observation on the topic of darkness, and the observation is this: God is the pattern of creation. Now that might sound a little strange, but stay with me here as I make the case on this.
The creation was dark, formless, void, and empty – and God said let there be light. In other words, God said: let my glory and presence fill and give form to the creation. It follows from this that everything in creation is designed to be a reflection of God, everything is designed to follow the pattern of his being in some way. Creation thus declares the glory of God (Ps 19) because it is an embodiment of his glory. We are called to love, to be righteous, to be wise, and we are made in the image of God – all things are designed to be a reflection of divine perfection. When an author writes a book, every word of the book is reflective of the mind of that author, everything bears the imprint of the author. Well, God is the author of creation.
We can establish this in still another way. In the Lord’s Prayer, we’re all familiar with those well-known words: “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” This truth has been there from day one. Some people say that the first reference to the gospel in the Bible is Genesis 3:15 where the promise comes that the seed of the woman will crush the head of the serpent. I think, however, that you find the full intention of the gospel expressed right here in day one: Let there be light. Christ is the light of the world, and God’s purpose for creation is to see it filled with his glory, his presence, and to exist as a reflection of his own character – “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Be ye doers of the word…
We may draw out an application here, which is: put off darkness. In Romans 13:11 we read: “you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.” Light by nature reveals things, and one of the things it reveals is our sin. In Luke 12:3 we thus read: “Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.” The day is coming when our lives will be fully exposed in the light of God’s presence. We may hide things now, we may fool each other, but with God – as Psalm 139 says – the darkness is as light. And at the judgment seat of God all that we have done will be revealed for what it is: “Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God” (1 Cor 4:5).
God’s purpose for creation is that it should perfectly reflect his own character, and although we are not yet perfect, the call is before us to put off darkness of sin in our lives. “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?” (2 Cor 6:14). Each of us needs to honestly ask ourselves the question: Is there any darkness in our lives that we are still hiding?
Perhaps I can press this application home with a reading from Ephesians 5: “But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.” Try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Examine every area of your life and ask yourself the question: Is this pleasing to the Lord? Put off darkness, and put on light.
Finally, a word of encouragement. When you start looking for it, it’s amazing to see the way that God uses the imagery of light and darkness right across scripture. In particular, I draw your attention to the fact that – just as he starts with light – so too he ends with light. By the end, however, the symbols and figures have at last given way to the reality. In Rev 21:23, speaking of the New Jerusalem in the new heavens and the new earth, listen to what we hear: “And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it,” and in Rev 22:5 we read: “And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.”
“The night is far gone; the day is at hand.” The light dawned as Christ the Son rose from the dead, and as his kingdom increases and the darkness retreats – the day of darkness will soon come to an end. We must not put our hope in the things of this passing world, and we must not be deceived by the evil one who presents himself as angel of light. We must instead put our hope fully in the grace that is to be revealed when Christ comes. In that day the light will shine brighter than the sun at noon on cloudless day, and we will stand together in his presence. Where do your hopes and affections presently lay? Set them fully on Christ. Walk with Christ, talk with Christ, look to Christ, set your heart and your hope on Christ, and before we know it, we will soon be with Christ and darkness will be no more. SDG.
Prayer of Confession & Consecration.
Our Lord and our God, our loving Heavenly Father, We thank you so much that you are the light of the world and you have sent the light of the world, your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to give light and to be light for us.
Lord, it's painful for us at times to have our sinful deeds exposed by your light. And yet, Lord, we don't want to remain hidden in darkness. Lord, help us to see our sins as they truly are, and to turn away from them.
In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Day 13: Out of the darkness (Gen 1:2-5).