“$99 for a flashlight?!”
At an outdoors class I attended several years ago, one of the students asked the instructor what he planned to do with the money he made from his Saturday side job. He replied by showing what he had bought using the money from a previous class earlier in the year. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a pocket-size flashlight. It was nothing impressive; from its outward appearance it looked similar to something you would see at the end of a checkout line at a dollar store. When he told the class that the little flashlight cost one hundred dollars, you could almost feel the eyebrows raise in the room. The cost seemed way out of proportion for something that appeared so trivial. That was, until…
He pressed the tail-cap and blinded everyone! Suddenly, we realized that his one hundred dollar toy wasn’t a flashlight. It was, in the words of the company, an “illumination tool.” It was, to be precise, an illumination tool from a company called Surefire that was made as a secondary flashlight for policeman and government agents. When such an intense light shined from something so ordinary, we realized that the company’s preparation, production, promotion, and the buyer’s purchase and patronization, were all justified.
For those familiar with the Bible, the theme of light and darkness is seen throughout the holy word from its first book: “… darkness was upon the face of the deep.” (Genesis 1:2, KJV). In the poetic books of Job, Psalms, and Proverbs, darkness is used frequently to refer to death, judgment, and unrighteousness.
In the opening book of the New Testament, Matthew describes the life of Jesus in terms of light versus darkness.
And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.”
(Matthew 4:13–16, ESV)
What makes this passage so interesting is when we consider where Matthew pulled it from. In Isaiah 42, the prophet writes about what Israel could expect when the Servant of the Lord came. We read about a bright light for all nations that will rescue those in darkness. Like Israel, human nature causes us to read that and think “Big… Grand… Showy… Flashy.” But God’s nature is not ours.
When we consider the context of the source of Matthew’s quotation of Isaiah, it shows us the humble nature of this Light: “He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice.” (Isaiah 42:2–3, ESV).
So where does that leave us? We have in Jesus Christ someone how was humble, lowly, meek, quiet, and from outward appearances trivial and insignificant. Yet, when he taught the people, the light of truth that shined from his lips compared to the darkness of religious tradition was described as “a great light.” While we are not that Light, we can—in the spirit of John 1:7—point people to him with our light. How do we do that?
We turn off our light and let his shine through us. We turn off our light but not talking about ourselves, and we let his light shine through us by telling others that the glory of God shines ever so brightly in the person of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 4:5–6
Dear Jesus, when this word glorifies darkness, help me to glorify light. When my heart seems dark, help me to see your light. And when those around me walk in darkness, may your light shine in me so that they may be rescued from darkness by you. Amen
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