I sat on the back patio facing the eastern horizon.  The moonless night allowed darkness to envelop my surroundings.  The familiar lights of the night sky were masked by clouds. With anticipation, I waited for an event that largely goes unnoticed these days.  Slowly, a glow emerged along the horizon’s edge.  I contemplated the irony of how darkness, which deceptively instills fear and anxiety, is dispelled as things gradually become visible again.  After all, darkness is nothing more than the absence of light.   The moment drew me to the words of Jesus, who declared himself to be the “Light of the world,” the one who rescues us from the domain of darkness.  The spiritual significance of the moment would continue to unfold. 

I could see fragmented clouds beginning to glow with brilliant orange and red shades. The thought of capturing a photo of this atmospheric display seemed inappropriate – I just watched.  Shafts of light burst forth through gaps in the clouds as the particles in the air served as myriads of reflectors.  The one who God appointed to rule the day was now before me.  The coolness of the morning gave way to warmth in my soul as I rose from my chair out of respect and humility.  This powerful testimony to God’s creative design was unmistakable.  With boldness, I stared at the increasing dimensions of this orange ball.  My surroundings emerged from the shadow of darkness, the birds offered praise in song, and light declared victory over the night.  As the sun’s trajectory continued higher in the sky, it transitioned from orange to brilliant white.  I could no longer gaze directly into its glory – a brilliance consistent with the Creator Himself.  I was humbled by the sun’s rightful declaration as ruler of the day.  I acquiesced and acknowledged my utter dependence on God’s provision for life and sustenance. 

The Psalmist announced, “The heavens declare the glory of the LORD and the skies proclaim the work of his hands” (Ps 19:1).  Every sunrise serves as testimony to the reality of the only true God.  But not everyone agrees with the Psalmist’s understanding.  I found it interesting that Richard Dawkins, a widely recognized evolutionary biologist and an unwavering atheist, made the following observation:

“When you consider the beauty of the world and you wonder how it came to be what it is, you are naturally overwhelmed by a feeling of awe, a feeling of admiration, and you almost feel a desire to worship something.  I feel this.  I recognize that other scientists such as Carl Sagan feel this.  Einstein felt it. We, all of us, share a kind of religious reverence for the beauties of the universe, for the complexity of life, for the sheer magnitude of the cosmos, the sheer magnitude of geological time.  And it’s tempting to translate that feeling of awe and worship into a desire to worship some particular thing, a person, an agent.   You want to attribute it to a maker, a creator.” (Source for Dawkins’ comments: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKIAbEFv0yE )

What Dawkins then celebrates, however, is an “emancipation” from the impulse to attribute such things to a creator.  Scientific advancement enables a declaration of freedom from such a primitive explanation. He proudly acknowledges “a supreme achievement of the human intellect to realize that there is a better explanation for these things.”   Yet such a conclusion, grounded in secular humanism, must be juxtaposed with what the Apostle Paul declares in his letter to the Romans:

“For since the creation of the world His [God’s] invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, being understood by what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their reasonings, and their senseless hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools.” Romans 1:20-22

The feelings of awe and a desire to worship that Dawkins described when observing the beauty of creation reflect the very message God calls us to embrace.  Yet men who reject such a conclusion choose to suppress the light of understanding and return to the darkness of finite thinking. Driven by confidence in the human intellect, Dawkins concludes that science provides a more sophisticated explanation: “Creation is the result of natural causes.”  He rejects his initial perceptions, choosing instead to succumb to futile reasoning.  In arrogance, atheists conclude man has knowledge sufficient to render God irrelevant, nay, non-existent.  Ironically, the famous scientist Isaac Newton held that science merely reveals God’s design of the universe.  The Psalmist wrote, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God’ “(Ps 14:1).

I challenge you to rise early tomorrow morning and experience the testimony of God.  Don’t dismiss this daily reminder or allow yourself to be deceived into believing that man has discovered a better explanation.  Jesus Christ is the source of a living hope as we confront a world trapped in the darkness of sin. God rescues all who believe in Him from the domain of darkness, transferring them to the kingdom of His beloved Son (Col 1:13).

Have we come to understand that faith in Jesus Christ alone is the source of our salvation, the means of freedom from the domain of darkness, and the path to restored intimacy with our God?  Many remain strangers to the risen Son of God, unwilling to receive the necessary and sufficient gift of mercy and grace that they might live in the Light.  They demand control of their lives – a quest that proves fleeting in the end.  They rebel against the call to humbly accept rescue through a relationship with Jesus Christ.  Others acknowledge the necessity of faith yet maintain a distant acquaintance, never really knowing the One who offers salvation.  Such unfamiliarity causes any hope to fade away in despair.  Still others quickly embrace the Son of God, but the attractiveness of the world reveals a division of loyalty and exposes a hollowness in their profession of faith.  Any initial devotion gives way to obligation in which they find comfort in checking the boxes. 

But there are a few who gaze toward the eastern horizon, desiring to follow Jesus, who declared, “I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).  We embrace the gift of salvation through faith – decreed by God the Father, accomplished by God the Son, and is applied to our lives by God the Holy Spirit.  In humility and dependence, we rise each morning to greet our God, who “caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable, and undefiled, and will not fade away” (1 Pet 1:3-4). 

The clock ticks as the day passes by, leading to nightfall – the time cannot be reclaimed. The number of remaining sunrises defining the timeline of our earthly dwelling is unknown.  Find that spot in the quiet of the morning where creation will testify to God’s glory.  See the light and embrace the gift of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

“I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life”

John 8:12