REJOICING FOR THOSE WHO WALK IN THE LIGHT

               "Come and let us walk in the light of Jehovah."-ISAIAH 2:5.


JEHOVAH is the Source of light.  The Bible calls him "the Giver of the sun for light by day, the statutes of the moon and stars for light by night."  (Jeremiah 31:35; Psalm 8:3)  He is the One who created our sin, which is, in effect, an enormous nuclear furnace releasing into space vast  quantities of  energy, some in the form of light and heat. The very small percentage of that energy reaches  us as sunlight sustains life on this earth.  Without  sunlight, we could not exist.  Earth would be a lifeless planet.

With that in mind, we can understand the gravity of a situation, described by the prophet Isaiah.  He said:  "Look! darkness itself will cover the earth, and thick gloom the national groups."  (Isaiah 60:2)  Of course, this does not refer to darkness in a physical sense.  Isaiah did not mean that  some day the sun, moon, and stars would cease to shine.  (Psalm 89:36, 37; 136:7-9) Rather, he was talking of spiritual darkness.  But spiritual darkness is death dealing.  In the long run, we cannot live without spiritual light any more than we can live without physical light. -Luke 1:79.

In view of this, it is of serious concern to note that Isaiah's words, although fulfilled on ancient Judah, are having a greater fulfillment in  today.  Yes, in our time the world is shrouded in spiritual darkness.  In such a dangerous situation, spiritual light is of the utmost importance.  That is why Christians do well to heed Jesus' exhortation:  "Let your light shine before men."  (Matthew 5:16)  Faithful Christians can lighten the darkness for meek ones, thus giving them the opportunity to gain life. -John 8:12. 

Next time:REJOICING FOR THOSE WHO WALK IN THE LIGHT -Dark Times in Israel

The Watchtower, 2001