At the End of the Day … It’s Night!

Have you ever heard of Utqiagvik, Alaska? I hadn’t either until recently. Formerly known as Barrow, Utqiagvik (don’t ask me how to pronounce it) is the northernmost town in Alaska. So what? Well, if you lived there, right now you would be in the midst of a 67-day “polar night.”

Because of its geographic location and the tilt of the earth’s axis, this town experiences perpetual night annually for 65 days or more. The sun won’t rise there this year until Jan. 23, and then just for a few minutes. If it happens to be cloudy, too bad! That’s a long time to be in the dark!

 

The flip side of this natural phenomenon is that the more than 4,000 citizens of Utqiagvik can enjoy the midnight sun all summer – 80 days or more of uninterrupted daylight. I’ve heard of golf enthusiasts eagerly playing 18 holes at midnight during this all-light-all-night season.

 

Getting back to that long, long night of northern Alaska, most of us would consider going more than 60 days without any sunlight unbearable. We complain when we shift from Daylight Time to Standard Time and “night” descends before 6 p.m. Imagine going somewhere for lunch and it’s still pitch-dark? 

 

So what? Well, for one thing light is an essential part of life. It’s the catalyst for photosynthesis, the process by which green plants use sunlight to synthesize food from carbon dioxide and water, producing the green pigment chlorophyll and generating oxygen. Also, sunlight is valuable for health reasons. Sunlight helps the human body to produce vitamin D; a good remedy for newborn babies suffering from jaundice is exposure to sunlight.

 

Most important, light is a critical part of the biblical narrative. In the creation account, God’s first act was to declare, “‘Let there be light,’ and there was light” (Genesis 1:3). Then on the fourth day the Lord said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light to separate the day from the night,,,. God made two great lights – the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars” (Genesis 1:14-19).

 

Over the six biblical days of creation, God devoted two of them entirely to creating light, including the sun, moon, and stars. Certainly, one reason was so the animals and human beings He’d later create could see and appreciate what He had made. But there was much more to it than that.

 

In the Scriptures, darkness is often synonymous with sin, evil, and separation from God. Isaiah 50:10 admonishes, “Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of His Servant? Who among you walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD; let him lean on his God.” Darkness – no offense intended for the people of Utqiagvik, Alaska – is not somewhere to remain in. 

 

The New Testament offers the same view. For instance, Ephesians 5:8 proclaims, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.” The source of this light is embodied in the person of Jesus Christ.

 

One of the major prophecies pointing to the coming Messiah proclaimed, “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. On those living in the land of deep darkness, a light has dawned” (Isaiah 9:2). Early in His ministry, Jesus recited this verse to announce He had come to fulfill those prophetic words (Matthew 4:16).

 

The first chapter of the Gospel of John, echoing the opening words of Genesis, reveals, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it…. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world” (John 1:1-4,9).

 

Jesus left no room for misunderstanding when He announced, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). In another setting, Jesus said, “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (John 9:5).

 

Charles H. Spurgeon, the famous British preacher of the mid- to late-19^th century, observed there are three distinct kinds of light from a theological perspective: Physical light; “gospel light” that reveals eternal realities, and spiritual light provided through the Holy Spirit to enable us to understand biblical truth.

 

Just as we require physical light to see and comprehend earthly things, God shows us eternal truth through His Word, and His Spirit enables us to embrace and apply His truth for the “nasty now-and-now” as well as for “the sweet by and by.”

 

Many of us agree that our world in plagued by unprecedented levels of darkness in many forms. Nevertheless, there’s good news: God hasn’t abandoned His creation, and He’s given His followers the privilege of shining His light to help in dispelling the darkness. As Jesus said, “You are the light of the world…. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16).

 

The people of Utqiagvik, Alaska might have no choice but to endure physical darkness for about nine weeks every year. However, despite the advancing spiritual darkness in society, we’ve been entrusted with the responsibility of shining the light of Christ to everyone in the world around us. “The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day” (Proverbs 4:18).

Light Is Always Brighter the Darker It Gets

A friend of mine likes to hike the hills near his home in the wee hours of the morning. Obviously in the darkness it’s hard to see and be seen, so he wears a headlamp to light the way and alert people nearby of his presence. When he encounters others on the hill, they are usually doing the same.

 

He observed that in daylight, his little lamp is hardly noticeable, but at night or before sunrise, it shines almost like a beacon. Reminds me of the longtime favorite children’s song, “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine….”

 

It’s interesting that “light” is one of the metaphors Jesus used to describe His disciples. After stating that they are “the salt of the earth,” He added, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house” (Matthew 5:13-15).

 

But Jesus’ most significant point came in the verse that follows this description: “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

 

Why is this important? Because one of the things our society – and the world – need these days is light. Not the kind of light we get from the rising sun or a switched-on lamp, but light that serves to dispel the darkness that seems to be closing in around us.

 

For more than two years, every aspect of our lives has been darkened by the lingering COVID-19 pandemic. We can’t turn on the news or read a newspaper without being bombarded by reports about acts of violence in its many forms. I’ve lived a long time and can’t remember a time when the levels of hatred and animosity between segments of society were higher.

 

But in the midst of all the bad news that seems to be getting worse, there’s hope. Like my friend’s small headlamp that glows brightly in the blackness as he hikes, we as Christ followers have the great privilege and opportunity to shine the light of His truth in our darkening world. And it may be that the Lord is allowing this darkness to deepen so that His light can shine more brightly.

 

As His earthly ministry was drawing to a close, Jesus told His followers, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light” (John 12:35-36).

 

Our challenge is to walk as closely to the Lord as we can and strive to live in such a way that we don’t dim the light of Christ that shines through us. As Jesus exhorted those following Him, “See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be completely lighted, as when the light of a lamp shines on you” (Luke 11:35-36).

 

The apostle Paul expressed it this way: “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6). If we’ve been born again into the family of God, He not only desires for His light to shine within us but also to radiate through us into the world here we live and work every day.

 

It’s easy to lose heart as we observe the evil lurking all around us, wondering where God is in the midst of everything that’s going on. But the people of Israel faced similar problems, largely brought on by their determination to disobey what the Lord had taught them and disregard all He had done for them. But the prophet Isaiah offered assurance that despite the depths of His people’s sin, God’s love, grace and mercy would prevail in the last days. 

 

He said, “The moon will shine like the sun, and the sunlight will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full days, when the Lord binds up the bruises of his people and heals the wounds he inflicted” (Isaiah 30:26).

 

The prophet later also conveyed this promise: “No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise. The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory” (Isaiah 60:18-19). 

In His Word, God promises that brighter days are ahead. In the meantime, it’s our responsibility to serve Him as “the light of the world,” shining in such a way that people can see Him through our actions as well as our words.