The Radiance of Love’s Light

Proverbs are pithy maxims; many of which are similes or comparisons, and are delivered in metaphors and allegories. Solomon and Jesus used this venue of communication to teach…
Why? I don’t really know, but perhaps they did it because they knew we as humans are curious, imaginative and creative and therefore would be drawn into a word picture or a story. In one of my favorite movies, Arabian Nights, there is a master storyteller who claims, “People need stories more than bread itself”. So on that note, there is a verse for today from the book of Proverbs….

18 But the path of the righteous is as the dawning light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day (Proverbs 4: 18) ESV or…

18 The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full light of day. (Proverbs 4: 18) NLT

Such a vivid picture; About living a life seeking God, seeking His wisdom. In this passage, Proverbs 4: 18-27, and specifically in verse 18, Solomon compares the path of the righteous with the sun’s first beams peeking over the morning horizon. Solomon, inspired by God, provided a panorama of wisdom, emphasizing the enlightening nature of God’s presence. To have wisdom is to have the light of God bringing clear perspective into the life of a believer. The light of wisdom is an ever-increasing light, just as the dim light of morning turns into the full light of day.
The way of righteousness is light. The path of the righteous for which they were chosen, is as light; and the light shines on their ways (Job 22:28). It is the gift of God, not that anyone should boast.

As Followers, we know in Christ is life and light (John 1:1-4), and this light has shown out of the darkness; shone in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6). Christ stands at the ready to give life and light and His light is forth like the sun as in this proverb.

For fun, I have my own allegory that I would like to share…
Imagine for a moment, a Lighthouse. Imagine in your Lighthouse picture that it is standing tall on a cragged cliff overlooking a rocky coast on a dark and dismal night. The wind is howling and pushing the surf as the wave’s crash violently onto shore. You can hear them. It is deafening; So much power and vehemence.
The lamps in your Lighthouse are lit. They are immensely radiant and this brilliant beam of light is circling the horizon. As you gaze on it, the light hits your eyes and you are blinded in pain. It is a hot, white beam and for a moment you are stunned, blinking back tears. When you recover, you understand its purpose; the light is shining out into the fog and the darkness and by it the rocky coast and every foaming wave crashing upon it, is illuminated. The light is guiding ships back home.

This is the type of shining that God’s presence will provide. Christ light shines forth as the lamps in the Light house or as Solomon wrote, the sun’s rays in the breaking dawn. The “path” we are directed to walk in, is the path of Christ Himself. He is our way, our truth, and our life (John 14: 6) and yet, He is ever searching, reaching out into the darkness, looking… seeking…searching for the one tempest tossed…in need of rest… and of rescue. Could you be such a one?