God created the earth to reflect His glory and what better way to accomplish this Holy task than to fill it with creatures bearing His image. The life that was the light of men would fill the planet and illuminate the universe with His divine radiance. Sadly, a powerful “sinstorm” caused the Tree of Good and Evil to fall and sever the connection between God and man causing a divine power outage that plunged the world into darkness. Instead of becoming lights on a hill, human beings became a box of dim bulbs. They were still image bearing bulbs, but instead of reconnecting to God’s grid they pulled out cheap religious AAA batteries and tried to light the world by themselves. While admirably feeling that there should be light, and that the light should be good, they actually ended up creating more shadows.

God commissioned Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply so that the world would magnify His glory. We humans have done a good job of packing the earth with image-bearing bulbs but have failed to make sure that they are screwed on right and powered by the Holy Spirit.

While we frequently call the world a dark place, I think a more appropriate term would be “light challenged,” because it is not that we are incapable of radiating God’s light but rather that we are unwilling. Christ has already repaired the damaged power lines and God’s transformers are eagerly humming with the power of the Holy Spirit waiting to be invited into our homes. It is now up to us to let our friends and neighbors know that the Light is simply a flip of the Jesus switch away.

In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1: 4-5)