Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
James 1:17 KJV
God is light. The very notion of this strikes us as confusing. The reason is that as people with bodies the idea of our bodies giving off light makes no sense. And yet this is one of the key descriptors of God’s being given to us in Scripture. What are we to make of it?
Even if we were to accept that God is light in a literal sense we should not be surprised by this. For God is purity itself.
It is both terrifying and comforting to think of God as being light. It is terrifying because it means there is nothing that can remain hidden from him. It is comforting because there is nothing that can remain hidden from him.
The comfort we have in knowing that God knows all it is that God is not surprised by what we bring to him.
One of the many challenges we face in faith is learning to trust God. The description of God as light should increase our trust because it means there is nothing we should try to hide from him. We might feel shame in confessing it out loud because it means admitting the truth to ourselves, but that is far less difficult than living under the burden of the truth we’re trying to hide from the world.
The description of God as light should increase our trust because it means there is nothing we should try to hide from him.
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The longer we wait the more difficult it becomes. The more accustomed we become to its presence in our lives. The more we fear its revelation to the world.
And so as we begin the season of Lent I think it’s appropriate for us to take time to consider what things in our lives we should allow God’s light to shine upon. This does not mean some form of public confession needs to be made. Although that is not necessarily excluded. But it does mean making a clear and unequivocal confession to God, seeking his forgiveness with a sincere heart.
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