One of the unique contributions of sight is our ability to discern between light and dark. Light, or more accurately light rays, is a substance, but darkness is not. Darkness is merely the absence of light. We can go to Lowes and buy a light bulb but not a “dark” bulb.
To see, we need four things: light source, light, reflective object, and light receiver/sensor
The theme of light and darkness permeates Scripture. The Bible claims that God not only gives light, but He is the source of light. The Old Testament Scripture portrays God as light. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105). But with the incarnation, we have both a new light and a new light source. John’s gospel introduces Jesus as the light of the world and in his epistle as the source of light.
Light is needed because man’s natural condition is darkness. We have been born into Satan’s kingdom of darkness, and without redemption, that is where we will die. The gospel claims that a transfer can take place, a transfer from the kingdom of darkness controlled by Satan to the kingdom of light controlled by Christ.
Paul describes his whole mission in the context of light. On the road to Damascus, God said to him, “I am sending you to the Gentiles…to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me” (Acts26:18). So it should not be surprising that later Paul wrote to the new believers in Colossae, “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son” (Col 1:13).
Man’s superficial problem is the rejection of God’s light. The root problem is the rejection of God as the light source. In the Garden of Eden, God’s only prohibition was to not eat of the tree of “knowledge of good and evil.” This tree represents more than just a moral code of good vs. evil. The terms “good and evil” are broad. “Good” can mean gracious, pleasant, prosperous, benefit, welfare. “Evil” can mean harm, adversity, ruin, trouble, unpleasant, calamity, wicked, as well as disaster. God used the same word “good” when he comments on creation, saying that it was “good.” It was not just a moral evaluation, but a statement of beauty, benevolence, perfection, and delight.
We get a clearer picture of the phrase “good and evil” from the prayer of Solomon as he assumes the kingship of Israel from his father, David. “So give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people to discern between good and evil (emphasis mine). For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?” (1 Kings 3:9)? At this point, Solomon recognized that God is the ultimate source for discernment to judge, guide, and govern wisely. His humility caused him to depend on a light source outside of his abilities, and God was pleased.
Returning to Adam and the tree of “knowledge of good and evil,” we must not assume it merely represents obedience vs. disobedience or good vs. evil. Adam did choose to disobey God, but he did much more than that. The knowledge of “good” represents discernment, judgment, and perspective of not only what is righteous, but what is beautiful, proper, and beneficial. Satan’s temptation was for Adam and Eve to have the final say in what is good and evil and thus become their own source of light and “be like God.” Herein lies the significance. Adam’s decision (and ours) is to replace God as our light source and become our own light source. It was not just a rebellion against the light but the light source.
God designed man to depend on God for knowing what is right, real, righteous, and useful. To have the final say as to what is good and what is evil is God’s role. When humanity took on that role for himself, darkness resulted. Rejecting the true light, he became trapped in the kingdom of darkness without hope.
Replacing our light source is rebellion against God and is clearly illustrated throughout history. European history during the 17th and 18th centuries is referred to as the Age of Enlightenment or the Age of Reason. It was a time when leading thinkers reacted to a culture dominated by the authority of God, church, Scripture, and tradition. They sought to replace religion with a better “light source.” They claimed that reason alone could discern what was true, good, and beneficial without the encumbrance of the superstitions and narrowness of the European form of Christianity and the church.
The intent was not to plunge the world into moral decay and decadence but to replace the light source with reason. Most historians would say that the Enlightenment period ended at the time of the French Revolution. The Age of Reason had not produced the light that it promised, leading to embracing a new light source historians call the Romantic Age, based on imagination, emotions, and passion. History is a constant testimony to the various sources of light that man has experimented with to overcome his darkness: wisdom, religion, tradition, reason, emotion, public opinion, etc.
In the Old Testament, God chose the nation of Israel to demonstrate that He was both light and the light source. But history reveals that Israel went through cycles of first rejecting the light (disobeying the laws of God) and eventually rejecting the light source (God Himself). When Israel asked Samuel for a physical king, God tells Samuel, “They have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them” (1 Samuel 8:7).
If we are to see with our spiritual eyes, we need the right light source. As the sun is the source of the light waves giving us the ability to see our natural world, so God is our source of light for the spiritual dimension – our source for truth, goodness, perspective, wisdom, as well as morality.
For Reflection
1. Where in our culture have you seen not only the rejection of the light but of the light source?
2. In what ways can we reject God as our light source?