HEAVENLY SUNLIGHT

The sun sinks low in the western sky and begins to set. Slowly the first hints of color begin to appear. Pale pinks and oranges at first. But within a few moments the colors have deepened and spread across the entire western sky. What person can look upon such a scene and not pause for a moment in awe of the majesty and beauty on display before them? How can anyone look upon this beautiful work of art and not wonder about the artist? Could Picasso or van Gogh or any other man, with brushes and paint in hand, ascend into the sky and paint such a remarkable masterpiece? Of course the idea of any man duplicating the works of God is utterly absurd.

A few hours later the darkness begins to lose its grip on the sky as the sun nears the eastern horizon from below. At first there is just a faint glow in the east, but slowly it grows until it engulfs the entire sky. Birds begin to sing and fly about. Creatures of the night begin to scurry to their daytime hideouts. Then slowly the sun makes its majestic entrance into the morning sky to announce the beginning of a new day.

Today dawned just like yesterday, and just like over two million yesterdays in the past. The perfect harmony between the sun and earth is just as amazing and beautiful as the sunrise or the sunset. From the creation until now and from now until the end, the sun rises every morning in the east, makes its slow but steady trek across the sky and then sets in the west. The sun shines just long enough to allow us to work and do whatever else we need to do before the darkness comes. And the darkness lasts just long enough for us to get sufficient rest to be ready to work again the next day. There is perfect harmony between the sun, the earth and man. And this harmony is the result of careful planning by an omniscient being, not a random accident.

If we were on either of the two planets closer to the sun than ourselves, Mercury and Venus, we would quickly die from the heat. If we were on any of the six planets farther from the sun than ourselves, then we would quickly freeze to death. The earth is exactly the right distance from the sun so that the sun can give us just enough of its energy to warm us without baking us. Is this a random act of evolutionary fate or the outcome of careful design and planning?

What if the earth were like some of the other planets? On Venus one day would last as long as 117 days here on the earth. Can you imagine having nearly 3,000 hours of daylight, then nearly 3,000 hours of darkness? On Jupiter an entire day lasts less than 10 hours. Again, imagine having about 5 hours of light and then 5 hours of dark. God has perfectly designed everything to work as it is best for man.

The earth is also the only planet with ample oxygen in the atmosphere and liquid water on its surface to support life. How can anyone attribute all of this to mere chance and not see the hand of God everywhere? It is as the apostle Paul said, "In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." (II Corinthians 4:4) People fail to see the handiwork of God all around them because they are blinded by their own ignorance. People came up with the ideas of the Big Bang and evolution, not because there is strong scientific evidence to support them, quite the contrary is true. They came up with these ideas because this was the best they could come up with as an alternative to believing in God. And then the masses, most of whom know very little about God or science, have fallen for it all, hook, line, and sinker.

This situation is not new at all, but it is just the latest manifestation of what Paul spoke of in his letter to the Romans. "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools." (Romans 1:18-22)

Paul is very clear that those who fail to see the clear evidence for the existence of God all around them are completely without excuse. This is because, as Paul states, the evidences for God's existence "are clearly seen." A person has to try hard NOT to see God in the sunset and the sunrise, or in the complexity and diversity of living things which coexist in perfect harmony on this planet. No open-minded, logical thinking person can look out the window and not see God everywhere and in everything. The person who can look at nature and not see God is just as Peter described. "For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water." (II Peter 3:5)

Despite the clear evidence for God's existence in nature the best educated men and women in the world deny His existence and preach their own gospel of evolution. But the harmony which exists here on this earth, and indeed throughout the entire universe, is not a random occurrence. It is a wonderful masterpiece of great beauty and harmony created by the Almighty God of Heaven.

Thanks be to God that He has created such a wonderful place for His children to dwell. Although we know that even the most beautiful things here on this earth will pale in comparison to what we will see in heaven, they can still be breathtaking to us while we are here.

As we gaze in awe and wonder at the spectacular beauty of a sunset how often do we really think about how important the sun is to us? Or what the sun really is? The sun is actually an enormous ball of hot gases, primarily hydrogen and helium. It generates its enormous amount of energy through nuclear reactions deep in its interior. The sun is as wide as 109 earths lined up side by side. It weighs as much as 333,000 earths. The sun is approximately 93,000,000 miles from earth. Driving at 65 mph it would take you over 163 years to reach the sun if you travelled non-stop. It only takes light 8.3 minutes to reach the earth from the sun travelling at an amazing 186,000 miles per second.

The sun produces an enormous amount of energy of which the earth gets very little. In fact the earth gets less than 1 part in 550,000,000 of the energy the sun produces. The sun produces about 390 million million million million watts of power. How would you like to pay God's power bill for a month? The temperature at the surface of the sun is over 10,000° F. And at its center the sun is about 28,000,000° F. Man can never hope to do anything as spectacular as what God has done.

From the day it was created the sun has risen in the east every morning and set in the west every evening. God does not make mistakes and the perfect way in which the sun fulfills its purpose is just one more example of God's power and intelligence. We do not need to fear that the sun might quit working like all of the things men make.

There are very few things we can be certain of in this life, but the sun is one of them. We see the earth constantly changing around us every day. Earthquakes, floods, mudslides, volcanoes, and other natural forces are always at work reshaping the earth's surface. Man too is capable of greatly affecting our planet. Entire mountains have been removed so that the metal ore they contain can be harvested. The courses of rivers have been altered, large swamps have been drained, large areas of desert has been irrigated and now abound with life.

The sun, however, is the consummate example of something which never seems to change. A man lives here on this earth for only a brief time and then he must die. But even after untold generations of men have lived and died, the sun continues its endless journey across the sky without even the slightest hint of change. Even though men may fail God, the sun will continue to burn as long as God wants it to.

Historically, the sun has long been a symbol of power, strength, and endurance. Man has long recognized the sun's constant nature and have used it as a standard of comparison. These qualities of the sun have even led to biblical comparisons between it and God. His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun (Psalm 72:17). When we recognize the importance of the sun and the fact that without the sun we would all die this comparison makes perfect sense. God's omnipotence is nowhere better illustrated to man in this physical world that through the sun.

While these comparisons are very appropriate and true, some people have went too far. These people, to their own downfall, have actually worshipped the sun as a god. The ancient Egyptians, Japanese, Babylonians, Aztecs, as well as the Blackfeet and Arapaho of North America, are but a few of the many past civilizations who have worshipped the sun.

The ancient Germanic peoples of Northern Europe also worshipped the sun. They celebrated a great yearly feast to their sun god shortly after the winter solstice, which normally occurs on either December 21 or 22. It was the intermingling of these ancient pagan rites of sun worship with Catholicism which led to the celebration of Christmas on December 25. The Catholics were able to persuade these "barbarians" to replace their worship of the sun with the celebration of Christmas. And to this very day Christmas is still celebrated on the date of this ancient pagan festival and still contains many of the ancient pagan traditions.

There are numerous other ways in which the sun was worshipped, but all of this boils down to exactly what the Apostle Paul described in Romans 1:25, Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Rather than giving credit to God for being the creator of the sun, they looked at the sun and, upon seeing its glory and majesty, they began to worship it instead.

To the ancients the sun must have indeed seemed like some kind of supernatural power. A great ball of fire in the sky which passed high overhead every day from east to west like clockwork. But their wonder and awe is still no excuse for bowing themselves to it as though it were a god. But even today, in the age of space exploration and great scientific understanding there are still those who revere the sun as a god. Some who hold this false belief have even stared at their sun-god until they went blind!

We know today that the sun is not a god at all, but is merely another great sign of God's handiwork. Until a few decades ago man had no understanding at all of how the sun is able to generate such an enormous amount of energy. Even today there are many aspects of the sun about which we still do not have a full understanding.

But regardless of what we do or do not know about how the sun works, the fact is that it does work. And it works in a perfect way to supply man's needs. When any open-minded person examines the harmony of the earth-sun relationship it is very evident that it is a relationship designed by God. The sun doesn't just happen to produce exactly the right amount of light and heat to supply the earth's needs by accident, but rather by design.

The sun does not just occupy a prominent place in ancient mythology and religion, but also in the Bible. The sun is the only physical object to which God is ever directly compared in the Bible. For the Lord God is a sun and shield (Psalm 84:11). And the east, the direction from which the sun comes every morning, is often mentioned as the direction of God. "And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory." (Ezekiel 43:2) It is no wonder that the biblical writers would compare God, who has no equal in heaven or earth, to the sun which likewise has no equal in the sky.

God has given us the sun to provide us with both heat and light. But have you ever though about just how vital the sun is to our existence? Without the sun life as we know it could not exist on this planet. The earth would be even worse than some of the outer planets, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. These distant worlds all have surface temperatures colder than -350° F!

In addition to supplying the planet as a whole with energy, the sun also does something a little more personal for you that you may not realize. As you sit listening to or reading this you are expending energy. The beating of your heart, the blinking of your eyes, breathing, swallowing, and all other natural processes require energy. Where did this energy come from? It came from the food you ate. Where did this food get the energy which it gave to you? There only two types of food we eat─plants and animals. The animals we eat in turn get their energy from plants. So all energy which animals have, including man, comes from plants. And where do plants get their energy? From the sun. In a process called photosynthesis plants transform sunlight into chemical energy which they use to make their own food which is called chlorophyll. This stored energy is then able to power animals when they eat the plants.

God, in His infinite wisdom, has created the sun such that it is able to sustain and power all life on earth. The sun is also responsible for the wind and rain. The sun's energy evaporates water from oceans, lakes, rivers, and other bodies of water, as well as from the soil itself. This water vapor rises, cools, forms clouds, and then falls as rain, hail, or snow. Again we must give credit to the infinite wisdom of God for creating everything such that it functions with absolute perfect harmony.

We can certainly write volumes about the awesome power and greatness of the sun, but we must always remember that, even in all its glory, the sun pales in comparison to the majesty of the Almighty God. While the sun does supply all living things on the earth with energy, it is God who created both the sun and the living things and established the relationship between the two.

The sun is a remarkable creation, but it is not the greatest thing that God has ever done for mankind. Even though the sun may be shining brightly men may still be walking in complete darkness. "The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble." (Proverbs 4:19) This darkness is of course sin.

This spiritual darkness is being separated from God, who is the true light. Those who chose to follow the evil ways of Satan will be banished into eternal darkness. "And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 25:30)

The angels who followed Satan and were cast out of heaven (Revelation 12:7-9) were banished into darkness. "And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day." (Jude 1:6) They are in darkness because they have been exiled from heaven, and therefore no longer enjoy the presence of God who is the light of heaven. (Revelation 21:23)

For a long time the world was so overcome by sin that, spiritually, it was just as dark as it was on the first day of creation before God said, "Let their be light." (Genesis 1:3) Mankind was drowning in this great sea of darkness. And the world was doomed to be forever in darkness until God once again said, "Let there be light." But this time the light was spiritual and not physical.

The Light which God shined into the world was His Son Jesus Christ. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." (John 1:1-14)

Just as the light which God created on the first day pierced the darkness which utterly and completely enveloped the earth, so too the Light of His Son descended upon mankind and accomplished the impossible. The power of Christ's gospel turned even the vilest of sinners and heathens─murderers, adulterers, liars, thieves, idolaters, and such like─into humble, selfless, loving, children of God. Paul told us of the great power of God's Word. "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12)

We said earlier that the light from the sun nourishes all plant life and gives it the energy it needs to live and grow. So too God's Light nourishes the souls of men and gives us the power to live. The power to live eternally. But whereas plants also need water, nutrients from the soil, and carbon dioxide from the air in order to live, the Word of God is quite sufficient for man's needs. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works." (II Timothy 3:16-17)

When nature operates as it was intended to by God, a plant uses the energy it receives from the sun to grow until it reaches maturity. When it is mature it begins to reproduce after its kind. God intends for the same thing to be true for those men and women who receive His spiritual Light. A Christian starts his new life as weak and immature as a newborn baby. And God's Word is the milk which the young Christian must drink in order to be healthy and grow stronger (I Peter 2:2). Without an ample supply of the Word the newborn Christian will grow weaker and weaker until he or she eventually dies. Unfortunately, we witness this sad event far too often in our churches. It is an inescapable conclusion that anything which is to grow must have a sufficient source of proper nourishment. This goes for everything in the spiritual as well as the physical realm.

When we look at the animal kingdom we find another interesting fact. Almost all animals must care for their young if they are to survive. And this becomes increasingly true for the more intelligent species of animals, and is especially true for man. How long would a newborn infant survive without someone to provide him food, warmth and love? Probably not much more than a day or two even if he were left in the best of circumstances.

Should we then expect the situation to be any different for the newborn Christian? Should we expect new converts to be able to fend for themselves in a world filled with Satan's influence without some help? Even though they have a copy of the Bible is that sufficient? Would we lay a bottle of milk next to a newborn infant and expect him to feed himself? It is just as serious of a mistake to assume that a newborn Christian can "feed himself" from God's Word just because he has a copy of it. It is the responsibility of those of us who are more mature spiritually, both men and women, to supply the needed guidance for newborn Christians.

Those of us who have matured past the point of spiritual infancy also have another responsibility. Just as plants and animals, after reaching maturity, reproduce after their kind, so too Christians are expected by God to reproduce after our kind. This is the spirit expressed by Christ in the great commission. "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." (Matthew 28:19)

God intends for us to evangelize both publicly and privately so that those who are in darkness may at least have an opportunity to see the light. Those who have been blinded by the god of this world (II Corinthians 4:4) will never see the light, but there are many who are groping in the darkness trying to find their way to the light and they only need someone to help them get started in the right direction. This is why it is imperative that we do as the Lord instructed and let our light shine to the world. "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 5:14-16)

Just as rose bushes and oak trees or frogs and horses do not appear from nowhere, but must come into being as a result of the natural course of reproduction of mature members of their kind, so too we should not expect newborn Christians to just show up at our door steps. It is our job to help "create" them. As Paul said, "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?" (Romans 10:13-14) This "preaching" may be public or private but it must be done if the church is to grow.

We even "preach" in a way just by how we conduct ourselves. This is how we let our light shine. When we set forth a righteous, godly example before those around us we are giving the most effective kind of testimony. Most of the time people pay a lot more attention to our actions than our words. Its good to tell someone about being a Christian, but it is much better to show them.

The psalmist said, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." (Psalm 119:105) Without God's Word it is impossible for man to know the way he must go in order to please God. God's word is like a lighthouse endlessly flashing its saving light into the darkness so that those who desire to reach the eternal shore may find their way. The water may be turbulent and filled with rocks along the shore, but the light will guide us safely into the harbor if we are willing to follow it.

If we do follow God's Word then someday we will find ourselves in heaven with God. When we get to heaven there will be no more beautiful sunrises or sunsets (Revelation 7:16). There will be no more full moons or stars or any other such lights in the sky. There will be no electric lights or fires or any other type of light which we are accustomed to here on this earth.

Even though there will be no light which we are familiar with, heaven will still be illuminated better than the brightest summer day. How is this possible? God will be the light in heaven. "And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there." (Revelation 21:23-25)

Can you imagine a place where it is never nighttime? A place where darkness does not exist. Heaven will be the exact opposite of hell which is described as "outer darkness." (Matthew 25:30) To be forever in the presence of God will bring us unimaginable joy and happiness, and to be forever banished from the presence of God will bring those who deserve it unbearable pain and suffering.

The sun is so powerful and gives off so much energy that all man can do is sit back and admire it from a distance. We can easily send space craft the 93,000,000 miles to the sun, but they would disintegrate in the enormous heat long before they ever got there. We have to be content with second hand knowledge of the sun. We cannot even look directly at the sun for very long without going blind.

In all of this the sun is very much like God. God is described as a light which no man can approach. "Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting." (I Timothy 6:16)

The closest anyone has ever come to beholding the glory of God was Moses. But even this first and great prophet and leader of God's people was denied this privilege. "And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: and it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: and I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen." (Exodus 33:21-23) Just think how fortunate we will be someday to stand in the presence of God and behold His glory! The beauty and glory of God's appearance is certain to make us forget even the best of earthly sunsets.