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by Kevin Pauley
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. – Genesis 1:1-4 HCSB
Our God is a consuming fire.[1] It is no small wonder, then, that His first act was to bring light into existence. The apostle John wrote concerning the Son of God, “All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created. Life was in Him, and that life was the light of men. That light shines in the darkness, yet the darkness did not overcome it.”[2]
This understanding of the nature and power of light is crucial to those who have not only been created in God’s image[3], but stand in the assurance of having become God’s children of light.[4] Our conception of this inward enlightened nature, this seed of glory[5] that has been planted within us, is vital to every good work.
We mustn’t allow ourselves to become misled by empty arguments as Adam and Eve did. They forgot that they had nothing to gain but the knowledge of evil, and now all those who follow them in their disobedience are headed for God’s wrath. We Light Makers do not want to partner in works of darkness. We must trust in our status as Children of Light and act like it! The fruit of light results in all goodness, righteousness and truth because it is able to discern what is truly pleasing to our fiery God.
We must not only passively abstain from dark works, we must expose them,[6]Aurora, lie torpid in a deep and cursed sleep. They need their Prince to come and wake them.[8] They need to open their eyes to the reality of sin’s wages and change their ways. actively allowing light’s goodness to prevail.[7] Only when evil is exposed to the light of truth does everything become clear. Those who are under Satan’s sway, like the fabled
Like the guerrilla fighters in the movie series “The Matrix”, we must move from person to person, seeking to enlighten them as to their true slavish state. Unawares, they are being consumed by the enemy. They are following him because he presents himself as Lucifer, the angel of light. However, he is better named “Father of Lies”[9] We cannot save them all. Some of them willingly remain in their shackles, preferring the lie to the truth.[10] We can do nothing for them. They have neither eyes that see nor ears that hear. We must leave them in their self-deluded hibernation and move on to the next potential rescue.
We must gently shake them, shine the light of truth into their blinking eyes and let them decide.
[1] Hebrews 12:29; Deuteronomy 4:24; 2 Thessalonians 1:8
[4] Ephesians 5:8; Luke 16:8; John 12:35-36;
[5] Romans 4:16-18; 9:8; Galatians 3:29; 1 Peter 1:23; 1 John 3:9; Revelation 12:17
[8] Psalm 57:8; Revelation 16:15 – I find it interesting that it was only when Peter, James and John awoke that they saw the Lord in His glory (Luke 9:32)
Kevin Pauley is a pastor and writer. He lives in Illinois with his wife, Lynn, their five children and two dogs. His internet address is Berea.
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