The Essence of Physical Light and Spiritual Light

In this discussion, there are two kinds of light that are going to be compared. The two kinds of lights that are going to be compared against each other in this discussion are going to be; physical light and spiritual light. As we all know, the sun, stars, oil lamps will all eventually burn out, whereas the light of God is forever, so showing that spiritual light, God’s light, is much better than physical light.

In Genesis 1:3 God said let there be light and there was light. Later on in Genesis 1:16 we read that God made two great lights, one of the great lights being the sun. The other light that is spoken of in this verse is the moon, which reflects the light of the sun at night. We also read in this verse that God made the stars. These were the first physical lights to be known. We have the sun in the day and the stars and moon at night.

As we go through the bible we also read about oil lamps being made use of for light. Today we still have oil lamps but we also make use of lights that are driven by electricity, gas, etc. We actually have many various ways of generating physical light today. As time is going forward, we are continuously developing new ways to generate physical light and ways to power physical light.

Due to common knowledge, we know that the sun is a massive big burning ball that is getting smaller as each day passes, thus showing that the sun is not going to burn forever; therefore, it will not be a light forever. Another factor about the sun and the light that it radiates on earth is the fact that if there are heavy clouds in the sky, the radiant brightness of the sun is hidden from us and we need to use other items to give us physical light. Out of experience we know that whatever we set alight only burns for as long as there is substance for it to burn, once the substance is finished, the flame dies; therefore, the light that it was producing is gone. A good example of this is a candle. In John 1:6-13 we get to reading about how God is the light, spiritual light for the whole world. It is declared in scripture that God always was, always will be and is unchanging. By various readings in scripture, John 1: 6-13 being an example, we can see that God and God’s light is forever and is not going to end, like the sun is going to end one day. To add to this, God’s light can’t be hidden from us as the sun gets hidden from us by clouds.

The light generated by the stars and the reflection of the sun off the moon are also not forever. Stars are constantly burning out, each and every day. It is actually fun to watch a shooting star in the sky and to make a wish. At the same time you get to see the light from that shooting star disappear as the star has died. As brought forward earlier, this is all removed from our sight when there are heavy clouds in the sky. Not to forget the fact that when the sun is gone, there will be no light reflecting from the moon anymore. All other methods of making physical light also only have a certain time period that they will produce light and then they die. We constantly need to replace light bulbs. When we look at John 3:16, we see that God sent his son Jesus Christ to walk the earth and be an example to the light of God. In Hebrew 13:8 we read that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Jesus died on the cross and rose again and is seated at the right hand of God our father, God our light. In Psalm 18:28 we read what David had to say about God; “You, Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.”

When going through this information that is at hand, we can see that spiritual light, God’s light, is much better than physical light. Take for example a physical light can be switched on and off at any time whereas God’s light is eternal.

Works Cited

The New International Version, Study Bible. By the Zondervan Corporation in 1985