Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
naught be all else to me, save that thou art–
thou my best thought by day or by night,
waking or sleeping, thy presence my light. (“Be Thou My Vision” by Mary E. Byrne)
When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he left Judea and returned to Galilee. He went first to Nazareth, then left there and moved to Capernaum, beside the Sea of Galilee, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. This fulfilled what God said through the prophet Isaiah:
“In the land of Zebulun and of Naphtali,
beside the sea, beyond the Jordan River,
in Galilee where so many Gentiles live,
the people who sat in darkness
have seen a great light.
And for those who lived in the land where death casts its shadow,
a light has shined.”
From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” (Matthew 4:12–17 NLT)
Because God is so far above us, it is often helpful to use metaphors when talking about Him. One of those metaphors that appears throughout Scripture is that of light, and for good reason. Imagine turning on a light in a dark room. Seemingly in an instant, the light bulb creates a blinding brilliance that is painful to look at, but it also illuminates the room, chasing out the darkness. It is by this reflected light—traveling from the bulb to the chair or wall to your eye—that allows us to see. If the light simply hit the objects and was somehow absorbed by them, you would be just as blind to the room around you as you were before you flipped the light switch.
In essence, every light source illuminates itself and every other item it shines on, allowing you to see everything clearly.
C. S. Lewis once said, “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.” Christ is the light that shines in the darkness. He is the source of all goodness, righteousness, and mercy—casting out the darkness that permeates our world—and He also allows us to see the world for what it is—created for God’s glory but marred by sin and death, with the full restoration to new life still yet to come. Following yesterday’s invitation for God to open your eyes, pray for Him to grant you His vision so that you might see where He is leading you to serve on His behalf.