Sparklers! Light from God

At the moment of conception of every human being there is a light show set off from the fertilized egg that announces that there is a new person on earth.  The new person comes into being at that moment in a blaze of light seen only by God the Creator. There is a new person, an ensouled body, an embodied soul, a unique creature – never in human history has a person identical to this person ever existed, nor will there ever be another one.

Called the “zinc fireworks,” this display of God’s divinity and love is initiated when a sperm enters an egg and a resultant calcium surge triggers the release of zinc, which results in a flashing burst of light.

Spiritual Light

The physical light show at conception is the first in a person’s life. If “light” is understood in its spiritual sense, there are many more to come. Jesus tells us about this spiritual light which is personal to each of us:

No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:15-16; emphasis added).

St. Paul says this in terms of us as children of light bearing a heavenly image:

For you were heretofore darkness, but now light in the Lord. Walk then as children of the light. For the fruit of the light is in all goodness, and justice, and truth. (Ephesians 5:8-9).

Such as is the earthly, such also are the earthly: and such as is the heavenly, such also are they that are heavenly. Therefore as we have borne the image of the earthly, let us bear also the image of the heavenly. (1 Cor 15:48-49).

An individual’s light flows from, and truly is, The Light, Jesus Christ:

In him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. . . .That was the true light, which enlighteneth every man that cometh into this world. (John 1:4,5,9). 

Light For Witness

“God is light” (1 John 5); He has “rescued us from the power of darkness” (Colossians 2:13); and we are to “walk then as children of light” (Ephesians 5:8). This “walk” is what Jesus talks about when he says let your light shine so that others may see your good works. It is good works that let others know we have the light and it is for them that our own spiritual light goes forth.

No one else can shine another individual’s light in the world. No one else can do the works that an individual can do because these works are the result of a unique person exercising free will to choose to do some particular good – and no one else can freely make another individual’s choices. No one else can shine one’s own never-to-be-duplicated-again personal light.

This is not done in isolation. This is how a Christian witnesses to others – not in darkness, not in one’s room with the door shut, not alone on a mountaintop, but in the presence of another and, sometimes, in public,  a star in the midst of the world:

For it is God who worketh in you, both to will and to accomplish, according to his good will.  And do ye all things without murmurings and hesitations; that you may be blameless, and sincere children of God, without reproof, in the midst of a depraved and perverse generation; among whom you shine as stars in the world. (Philippians 2:13-15).

St. John the Baptist witnessed to the light:

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to give testimony of the light, that all men might believe through him. (John 1:6-7).

In the same way, each of us is called to be a witness, a spiritual star, with our own personal spiritual light production:

You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you shall be my witnesses (Acts 1:8).

But the path of the just, as a shining light, goeth forwards and increaseth even to perfect day. (Proverbs 4 18).

But they that are learned shall shine as the brightness of the firmament: and they that instruct many to justice, as stars for all eternity. (Daniel 12  3).

Odds are you will never be called to witness as the early martyrs did, many of them torn to pieces publicly by wild animals in amphitheaters and arenas around the Roman empire. Still, each Christian is called to witness every day – to all those people God puts into each person’s life daily. Each day you live with and interact with other people. People of different ages, men and women, babies, children, teenagers, and adults, at different locations, stores, schools, churches, clinics, gas stations, hospitals,  in different contexts, face-to-face, on the phone, on the internet, in a line, by text, by email – all sorts of people, all sorts of situations.

Each of these people, including you, has been made by God, a loving Father. Each person has been chosen by Him this day to be, in whatever way, in your life. You are free to choose if, and how, you interact with them and treat them.  In terms of eternal salvation, you get to choose what you do, for yourself and for them. No one else is there in your place, no one else can shine the light you can shine. And this is why God has put you there at that moment.

The Light of Others

Each person has a personal spiritual light which too should not be put under a basket, but on a lampstand. C.S. Lewis says this in terms of “glory.” For him each person is responsible for – has the “weight” of – both his or her own glory and that of each person he encounters every day.

Each of us is responsible for the light of every other person gifted daily by God into our lives. This responsibility was summed up by Jesus when he told us to love one another. This responsibility means each of us is responsible for the spiritual light of others. So regarding the light of others, we can do things like this:

recognize it, acknowledge it, accept, confirm, praise, nourish, foster, facilitate, tend, kindle, ignite, elicit, evoke, support, uphold, give thanks for,  and enjoy.

That’s in general, but how, specifically, can one do this? Jesus says others will know our light by our good works and so it is with the others in our lives. Once we see and experience the good works of others, we can acknowledge their light and affirm to them what they have done – that we have seen their light. For example, we can tell them:

Thank you for that.

I saw what you did and it was wonderful.
I really appreciate what you did.
That meant a lot to me, thank you.
That was so good of you to do that.
Today, for me, your face was the face of Jesus.
What you have done is a gift to me.

Conclusion

The light of the Star of Bethlehem showed the wise men and their whole entourage the way to Jesus. Your light can be the same spiritual beacon for each person you are with every day. And this is not a one way street – each of these persons is a Sparkler God is giving to you – your own Star of Bethlehem for whom you can say, “Thank You, God.”