Let there be light

The phrase, “Let there be light” has come to refer to a moment of sudden clarity, inspiration, or understanding; a “light bulb moment”. Often we think of Isaac Newton, or Albert Einstein.

Light has long been a rich source of metaphor. Sometime around the 5th century BC, Siddhartha Gautama would seek “enlightenment”–an awakened sense of true reality–through asceticism and meditation. In the 17th century, western philosophers would seek the same through reason. More recently, “light bulb moments” reflect instants both of understanding and of creativity–inspiration.

The start of Bible carries this last meaning, in its fullest sense:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. (Gen 1:1-4)

The word “inspire” itself literally means to breathe into. In the Middle Ages the word was associated with the work of the Holy Spirit, who was “hovering over the waters” (Gen 1:2) when God spoke these words. In Genesis, breath creates life:

Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. (Gen 2:7)

Light, meanwhile, moves towards its modern meaning in the Psalms, where Scripture is found to be the source of our true enlightenment:

Your word is a lamp for my feet,
a light on my path. (Psalm 119:105)

Jesus will go on to claim this for himself, the he himself is the source of our true enlightenment, and that enlightenment is in fact deeper than we ever thought, bringing not just understanding, but transfoming life itself:

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

Thus for the Christian, it is the light of Christ that brings understanding:

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. (2 Cor 4:6)

All these threads come together at the beginning of John’s gospel, where Christ–working with the other two members of the Trinity–is seen to be the source both of life and of truth:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. … The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:1-5, 14)

And ultimately, Paul goes on to tell us, light will shine everywhere. When the Lord comes:

He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God. (1 Cor 4:5)