Forever Light

You might think from the title of this piece that I’m writing the ad for the ultimate flashlight.

Well, no.

The future holds a world with no flashlights, no lamps, and no compact fluorescent bulbs. It will be a time when nothing will be in the dark. God Himself will be the One who lights everything, everywhere (Revelation22:5).

Something will be missing from this future world. It’s the veil of secrets we all guard with our lives and our energy. It’s the force that makes our lives unmanageable sometimes in large areas and perhaps all the time in smaller ones. It’s that thing that fundamentalists harp on when talking about pagans and in general, people they don’t like.

What is it?

Sin.

We’re all guilty of it. We all have secrets we guard closely. We’ve all offended others with our pettiness. And even the most pious among us have violated every one of God’s laws in thought, word, and deed. So it’s safe to say that anyone reading this needs this “forever” light.

All will be exposed at the Day of Judgment. That’s the dark side of light. Salvation’s appeal is that the punishment for all our sins is thrown on Christ. So what benefit does this light bring now? What glimpse into the future does this light reveal?

Mentally, God reveals the way the world works to us in the Scriptures. In fact, if all you read were the Ten Commandments, you’d have a good synopsis of human behavior. You’d see easily how sinful choices wreck your life and the lives of those around you.

If you want to have common sense, study the law. It brings light to mental darkness and clears the fog of moral ambiguity. Are you wondering if petty theft is wrong? Check number 8. Will sex outside of marriage open you up to heartache and even sexually transmitted diseases? Check number 7.

It’s not that God doesn’t want you to have fun. In these examples, He knows you’ll derive more satisfaction from wealth you’ve earned than from money you’ve stolen. It’s not that sex is bad in the right context. But it is so powerful that in the wrong context, it can be outright life-threatening sooner or later.

The win for having the forever light now is you’ll see the truth, and that truth will set you free - forever.