Morning By Morning #5

God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.

Genesis 1:4

From the pen of Charles Spurgeon:

Light is good because it sprang from the decree of Goodness Himself: “Let there be light” (Gen. 1:3). Yet we who enjoy its benefits should be more grateful for it than we are and should see more of God in it and through it.

According to Solomon, physical “light is sweet” (Eccl. 11:7), but the light of the gospel is infinitely more precious, for it reveals eternal things and ministers to our immortal nature. When the Holy Spirit gives us this spiritual light and opens our eyes to behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, suddenly we see the stain of sin and our own helpless position. We see the Most Holy God as He reveals Himself, the plan of mercy He has set forth, and the world to come as His Word describes it.

Spiritual light shines with the rays of every color of a prism, but whether they are knowledge, joy, holiness, or life, they are all divinely good. Yet how much more glorious must be the light shining from His throne and the heavenly place where He reveals Himself!

O Lord, since Your light is so good, give us more—and more of Yourself, the true Light.

Of course, as soon as something good came into the world, a division became necessary. Light and darkness can have no fellowship. (See 2 Cor. 6:14.) Therefore, since God divided them, let’s not confuse them. Children of light must not have fellowship with the deeds, doctrines, or deceits of darkness. They must be sober, honest, and bold in doing the Lord’s work, leaving the works of darkness to those who will dwell in that darkness for eternity.

Our churches should exercise the discipline of dividing light from darkness, and we as believers—distinctly separated from the world—should do the same. Our judgment, our actions, our relationships, what we hear, what we teach—in all of these—we must discern between what is precious and what is vile. We must maintain the dramatic distinction the Lord made on the world’s very first day.

O Lord Jesus, be our light through this entire day, for Your light is “the light of men” (John 1:4).

From the pen of Jim Reimann:

Light and darkness are distinct opposites and each displays its own unique properties. John 1:5 says, “The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” The NIV text note, however, gives this alternate translation of the Greek: “The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome.”

Darkness cannot overcome light. Consider this simple example: you open the door of your unlit closet while standing in your well-lit bedroom. What happens? Does the darkness spill over into the bedroom? Of course not. The light overcomes the darkness and you can now see into the once dark closet. Yet the light in the bedroom has not been diminished. Spiritual light has this same unique quality of physical light—it will always overcome darkness.

Lord, may Your light shine through me into a dark and dying world.