Fireworks!

Today is Independence Day in my country, the United States of America.  My favorite thing to do on this day is enjoy fireworks displays.  It is so exciting to sit there as darkness falls, waiting for that first burst of gorgeous light.  Why is it we enjoy fireworks so?  We even refer to the kindling between a man and a woman as "fireworks".  Why?  I have some ideas about that.

In today's Genesis post (#9), we are going to explore the first created thing mentioned in the Genesis account:  Light.  Here's Genesis 1:3 - -

And God said, "Let there be light."  And, there was light.

From Genesis 1:2, recall that there was darkness, emptiness and waters, with the Spirit of God moving over all of that.  As God came onto the scene, He created light.  This light emanated from Him.  It was a visible manifestation of the Triune God's very nature.  It was not light from any physical heavenly body.  Those lights - - the sun, the stars, planets, etc., were created later.  This light sprang forth from God Himself.  What fireworks those must have been!

The Hebrew word translated "light" is  ’ō·wr , which means a physically observed type of light, in nearly all it's Old Testament appearances.  In the Greek New Testament, the word most often translated "light" is  φῶς, and the meaning is almost always spiritual, as opposed to physical.

When God created light as His first creation, I believe this created thing embodied both those attributes.

You know, when some people enter the room, they bring a certain presence with them.  Have you ever felt that?  It can be either a transcendent, luminous, glorious presence; or, it can be more of a malevolent sort.  When God came on scene in Genesis 1:1, He expressed Himself onto the formless void by creating light, because He IS Light.

The apostle John loved to emphasize this attribute of the Godhead and also of the Christian walk.  See 1 John 1:5 - -

God is Light, and in Him is no darkness at all.

And, John recorded Jesus' own words in John 9:5 - -

"I am the Light of the World." 

Therefore, it is inescapable that when God began His creative process those thousands of years ago, He first birthed into His creation His essence: Light. 

When you love someone, you bring light into his or her life. "Fireworks!" That's what God did for us.
If you will recall, there was a spectacular light show the night Jesus was born.  The witnesses were the shepherds, watching their flocks in the field.  Do you think it was an accident Jesus was born in the "dead of night", and that as He was born, light burst forth onto the scene?  The German composer, Johann Rist, penned this truth so beautifully!

Break forth, O beauteous heavenly light,
and usher in the morning; 

O shepherds, shrink not with affright,
but hear the angel’s warning. 

This child, now weak in infancy,
our confidence and joy shall be, 

the power of Satan breaking,
our peace eternal making.

So, where God is, there cannot help but be light. 

But wait a minute - - -
If you will recall one of my recent posts from Proverbs, Solomon claimed that Wisdom (or Truth) was the first created thing.  Consider these verses from Proverbs 8 - -

22“The LORD possessed^b me at the beginning of his work,^c
the first of his acts of old.
23Ages ago I was set up,
at the first, before the beginning of the earth.
24When there were no depths I was brought forth,
when there were no springs abounding with water.
25Before the mountains had been shaped,
before the hills, I was brought forth,
26before he had made the earth with its fields,
or the first of the dust of the world.
27When he established the heavens, I was there;
when he drew a circle on the face of the deep,
28when he made firm the skies above,
when he established^d the fountains of the deep,
29when he assigned to the sea its limit,
so that the waters might not transgress his command,
when he marked out the foundations of the earth,
30then I was beside him, like a master workman,
and I was daily his^e delight,
rejoicing before him always,
31rejoicing in his inhabited world
and delighting in the children of man.

Wisdom is another attribute of our Triune God, the Godhead so called.  Although God's speaking forth Wisdom is not explicitly mentioned in Genesis 1, there is no indiction from Solomon that Proverbs 8 could be taken as allegorical or merely "poetic".  As you have no doubt discovered, the Bible is not necessarily laid out in a linear, progressive fashion verse after verse, which is why it is so complex.  The whole of God's Word altogether paints the most complete picture.  Even so, I don't fully understand where Wisdom fits into the Genesis Creation Story; but, that's ok.  We don't have to fully understand every detail of God's work - - can't, actually.  Moving on.... ;)

Truth and Light.  In His initial creation of the heavens and the earth, God gave us a picture of how He would redeem the world, by sending His Son as the Light of the World.  The apostle Paul recognized this and declared the following in 2 Corinthians 4:6 - -

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Isn't that beautiful and glorious?! 

As God's divine light invaded the dark nothingness on Day One of creation, so His divine light is the only remedy for the sinner's dark, lost, empty soul.  The soul without Jesus Christ dwells in spiritual deadness and darkness, hopeless chained in sin, unable to effect our own redemption.  In the midst of that hopeless state, God's Son bursts forth!  By grace, we can receive light and life, God's own Son, as we believe in Him through faith.

Not only that, His mighty power can transform the filthiest soul into men and women "of whom the world is not worthy" (Hebrews 11:38 and Daniel 12:3).1

So, when you watch fireworks today or this weekend or whenever you see them, remember God's beautiful creation of light, both in Genesis and in your own soul.  And, if you have not yet embraced Jesus as Savior, what better day than today?  May today be your own personal Independence Day, your Eternal Peace Day!2

"The power of Satan breaking
Our peace eternal making." 3

Sources:

1    https://answersingenesis.org/the-word-of-god/let-there-be-light/

2    http://resplendentdaughter.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-main-thing.html . (I just realized I wrote this post exactly 4 years ago today . . . Soli Deo Gloria!!)

3    https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-break-forth-o-beauteous-heavenly-light

Repugnant Scorn

In my few, short years of life :) , one thing I have noticed is that a quiet, humble faith usually infuriates the ungodly.

Who are "the ungodly"?  We tend to think of those who do overt evil.  But, the phrase has an even broader definition.  They are those who choose a way that is opposed to God and His one way to eternal life.  In other words, "the ungodly" are people who may live good, upstanding, moral lives, but who are putting their trust for eternal salvation in their own goodness, or in some other false god. Other times, yes, the ungodly are those who practice horrendous evil as well.

Regardless of the degree, all who do not trust Jesus as Savior and demonstrate a living faith, a godly life, are lost in their sins....the ungodly.

Now, back to my original point.  For those who belong to Jesus Christ, their humble yet confident faith is frequently maddening to those who are lost.  Proverbs 4:18-19 (NIV) contrasts these two walks of life quite well.

18The path of the righteous is like the morning sun,

shining ever brighter till the full light of day.

19But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness;

they do not know what makes them stumble.

The one who puts his faith in Jesus begins a life walk down a path which grows ever brighter.   There will be stumbles....unseen roots of sin that spring up along the path.  Though the Christian may even sprawl flat on his face in the dirt occasionally, he never walks alone.  The Savior is always there to pick him up, patch up wounds, dust him off, and set him once again walking down the path of faith. That path grows ever brighter as the relationship with Jesus deepens, as submission to the Savior's will grows.  Eventually, that redeemed one walks in "the full light of day" when he meets his Savior face-to-face and full glory is revealed.

The beautiful walk, the resplendent walk of righteousness produces one of two reactions in the heart of the wicked.  Sometimes, they are so convicted in their deep sin that they are drawn to salvation in Jesus like a moth to a flame.  The Holy Spirit frequently uses the testimony of the true believer to convict and to lead the sinner to repentance and to salvation.

But, even more often, the wicked hate this process.  Seeing it in action is so repugnant to the lost person that he responds in violent anger, determined to destroy the child of God.  This is because the lost dwell in "deep darkness".

And, this is a sad dimension....they don't even recognize their extreme situation.  "They do not know what makes them stumble"!  They are like those characters in the movie "Blair Witch Project", who ran through dark woods, having no idea how to find safety or to escape the hound of Hell who chased them.  And, the wicked have no clue they are in such dire straits!

Blinded by the lies of Satan and the philosophies of the world, they eagerly embrace a rebellious stance toward God and His ways, believing that they have "the right" to do so.  Often, because they serve the god of this world, they experience worldly success, which more firmly entrenches their false beliefs and folly.  It, then, is a grace of God when their little empires come crashing down around their ears, because it can be during those times of trouble that their eyes become opened and they truly see the Savior.  It is a hallelujah when, out of their pit of despair, they finally turn to Him for salvation.

Do you know and love those who have embraced such wickedness as their god?  Christian, pray for your loved ones in this perilous situation.  God states through the apostle Peter, who knew the Savior so well, that God is supernaturally patient with the wicked.  It is not God's will that any of them should perish in Hell.  (I thank Him that He is similarly patient with me, in my many stumbles!)

 9The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you,^a not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

2 Peter 3:9 (ESV)

Prayer, and living that quiet life of humble, living faith are your two most potent weapons to win them.  Don't neglect prayer; and, don't be slow to apologize to them for those times when your faith doesn't line up with your actions as you walk the resplendent path to Heaven.

Are you an ungodly person?  Have you chosen the path of wickedness for your life?  If you have not chosen Jesus as your Savior and begun to walk in His way, or if your reaction in reading the words of this blog today has been laughing, scoffing, repugnance or scorn, then I fear you have pitched your tent in the camp of the wicked.  Come of from among them today, before it is too late. Although God's perfect will is that none should go to Hell, He will not violate His character to overrule your free will to choose Hell as your final destination.

I pray you will make the only wise choice, which is to choose Jesus today.