Bulletin Articles
The Father of Lights
James writes about the deceptive nature of sin in contrast to the unwavering nature of God:
“…when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow” (James 1:16-17).
James admonishes us not to be tricked into sin because the truly good gifts come down from the Father of Lights (v. 17). Why is God called the Father of lights?
The first words that God spoke in Genesis 1 were, “Let there be light.” 1 John 1:5 teaches that God is light, and 1 Timothy 6:16 states that He lives in unaproachable light whom no man has seen or can see. Jesus is the Light of the world that came down from heaven to save mankind. “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it” (John 1:4-5). We also know His light will illuminate Heaven (Rev 22). God is all about light from the beginning to the end of Scripture.
The idea that God is Light should comfort people who do not enjoy darkness. Why does darkness frighten us? Perhaps because it obscures, and we tend to fear the unknown because what’s hiding may hurt us. Sin, of course, will hurt us, and it will hurt us eternally if we don’t come to the Light.
A basic function of light is to give knowledge. Light on your path shows where you are stepping, and it shows what may get in the way. It provides us with knowledge of the path so that we can decide on a plan of action. By providing light, God provides knowledge and shows us the right path.
God is not led astray by His own desires, according to James, because He is never deceived. He understands all that is happening and sees things for what they are. Jesus is the light shining in the darkness (John 1:5), and He shows us the way to live. He taught the truth, which dispells the lies of sin. He walked the road before us and showed how it can be safely navigated.
The cure for sin starts with the sacrifice of Jesus, but passes through our desire to follow and listen to His illuminating instruction. The Bible is still a “lamp to my feet and light to my path,” as Psalm 119:105 says, but it is not forcing us against our will to go one direction or the other. We must be engaged in actively searching out the way ahead. If we close our eyes to where we are going, we will end up in the ditch. Blinding people to the Light is the work of the devil:
“And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Cor. 4:3-4).
Why does God provide us the light? Psalm 103:13 says that God has compassion on us, just as a father does his children. He tells us the way things really are because He loves us. A father protects and provides for his loved ones, but one of his most crucial roles is to provide guidance. True love seeks to rescue the loved one from self-destruction and helps to make others better. For this, we need the light.
Children of God admire their Father. Proverbs 17:6 teaches that grandchildren are a man's joy and that the glory of children is their father. Our Heavenly Father has given us so much more than any earthly father. He is the perfect example of providance, protection, nurture and care, and even instruction. The appropriate response is as Isaiah worded it, “You are our Father, we are clay--You are the potter, and we are the work of Your hand” 64:8).
If God is the Father of lights we need to be children of light, and even the light of the world (Matt. 5:14), serving as luminaries in a crooked and perverse generation (Phil. 2:12-16). Part of imitating Him and His example is to tell and show others what is truth. When we pass on His message we will be helping others to see things for what they really are. The Light is accessible. Let’s look to Him.
“This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God. (John 3:19-21)
