“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” – C.S. Lewis
You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. – 1 Thessalonians 5:5
I think we can all agree that we need light. It is vital for nature to thrive and grow. “Nothing is more important to us on Earth than the Sun. Without the Sun’s heat and light, the Earth would be a lifeless ball of ice-coated rock. The Sun warms our seas, stirs our atmosphere, generates our weather patterns, and gives energy to the growing green plants that provide the food and oxygen for life on Earth.”1
Light is crucial for the individual human as well. Light impacts our brains and moods: “Sunlight and darkness trigger the release of hormones in your brain. Exposure to sunlight is thought to increase the brain’s release of a hormone called serotonin, boosting mood and helping a person feel calm and focused. At night, darker lighting cues trigger the brain to make another hormone called melatonin. This hormone is responsible for helping a person feel sleepy and go to sleep.”2 Scientists are discovering that our very cells contain light particles that communicate with each other to promote growth.3 Moreover, of course, there are the practical things that light does for us like allowing us to see a room clearly so we can navigate it safely.
Light is crucial to God as well. We see that from the very beginning, the light was present: “In the beginning…God said, ‘Let there be light.’” (Genesis 1:1,3) Throughout the Bible, God uses elemental symbols like fire, especially in the form of a candle flame, to represent both the Holy Spirit and light; tongues of fire that symbolized the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and Jesus’ description to His followers as the Light of the World; God is a consuming fire, found in Hebrews 12.
