The very first thing God ever made was light. Does this mean there was no light before He created it? Yes and no.

There was no physical universe, and no light in that physical universe, before He created those things. But everlasting light, in the sense of God and Heaven and His Spirit, has always been and it will always be.

It is the Light that is everlasting (both from forever-past until now AND from the past and now on until forever). It is this Light that both encompasses Jesus as a part of the Trinity and also encircled His human being while He chose to walk the earth inside the bounds that bind us.

“In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it…The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.” (Jn. 1:4-5, 9 – NIV)

The words for today’s art are inspired by a hymn, one written by a man named Rusty Edwards. His original first line says, “Praise the One who breaks the darkness with a liberating light.” I chose to change the words slightly, however, because I think there is a difference between seeing God’s light as “a liberating light” and as “the everlasting light.”

There are multiple ways one can think of that, but I will focus one viewpoint today. To me, God’s light as a liberating light focuses on the freedom we find in this life and world, certainly for our souls from fear of death and bondage to sin, but also for our bodies from addictions and pain, and for our minds from ignorance and pride. And God’s light as the everlasting light focuses on all those things outside this life and world that we cannot really see and know (at least a taste of) until we get to Heaven.

Both levels or aspects of this light we need are so important.

We need the first light to give us hope and strength in this life, to believe that new life in His light and freedom in the face of our humanity are each present-day possibilities…indeed, chooseable actualities.

And we need the second light to help us glimpse the possible reasons behind all the things we can’t see clearly now. For if we trust that everlasting light and the goodness of Providence, we will have hope and strength to face all the things we are not, for some reason, set free from in this earthly journey — and all the things we cannot comprehend this side of Heaven.

After all, isn’t faith ultimately being certain of what we cannot see with these human eyes? (See Heb 11:1.) And doesn’t one need light to see anything at all?

“God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all.” (1 Jn 1:5b – NIV) Light to liberate now? Yes. Light to shine through the dark clouds of our weakness and limitations when struggles sometimes remain? Yes. Light to help us see and know fully even as we are fully known when the bounds of time are no more? Yes.

To the One who both is the Light and maintains the Light — without making a mistake (though I cannot fathom Your ability now): praise be.