Live By the Light of Christ

The whole book of Isaiah is a mixture of gloom and glory. So in Isaiah 60:1-2, Isaiah goes from light to darkness to light again. "Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the LORD will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you" (vs. 1-2).

Notice that two times Isaiah talks about light as "glory" (vv. 1b, 2b). In Hebrew, the word "glory" has the meaning of being weighty or important. God certainly is weighty or important. He is the center of our lives. It is only in Him that we live and move and have our being. In fact, if we were to take God out of our lives for a millisecond, or out of this world, or out of the universe, do you know what would happen? If God were to be removed for even a millisecond, we would cease to exist, this world would crumble, and the universe would collapse and disappear. That's how important, or how weighty, God is.

According to Isaiah, this weighty presence of God has appeared. God has come with all the weight of His glory. He has come in all His brilliance and splendor. Isaiah sees the light and glory of God coming upon Jerusalem. Like a blazing sun, the glory of the Lord has risen upon Jerusalem, bathing it in His full and glaring light.

Throughout the ages, different people have come face-to-face with the glory of God. Moses said to the Lord, "Please show me Your glory" (Exodus 33:18). And the Lord replied, "You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me and live… Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen" (vv. 20-23). "The LORD passed before him" (Exodus 34:6) and when he came down from the mountain of God, "Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone" (v. 29). When the people saw Moses, they knew he had been with God. It was evident!

When Isaiah was called to be God's prophet, he had a vision in the temple. The Lord was seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. He saw seraphim flying around the throne and he heard them calling to one another, "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory" (Isaiah 6:3). At the sound of their voices, the door posts and thresholds shook, and the temple was filled with smoke. After this, Isaiah was convinced that he was going to die because he was "a man of unclean lips" (v. 5)—a sinner who had seen the glory of the Lord.

The glory of God is especially displayed in the history of salvation. Remember the burning pillar of fire that was in front of Israel in the wilderness? The glory of the Lord was in that pillar of fire. The glory of God's presence threw the Egyptians into confusion. The glory of God's presence in the pillar of fire led the people safely through the wilderness (Exodus 13 & 14). We see the same glory of God at work at Jericho when its walls came tumbling down (Joshua 6:20). In fact, every work of salvation displays the light of the glory of God.

Most importantly, we see the light of the glory of God in the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Remember what the angels said when the baby Jesus was born? "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!" (Luke 2:14). Just before He went to the cross, Jesus prayed, "I have glorified You on the earth, I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was" (John 17:4-5).

Christ's work brings glory to God. The coming of Christ to do His work as Savior and Lord is the light Isaiah is speaking of. The light of Christ "has come" (Isaiah 60:1a) and has called you out of the darkness of sin and into the light of His glory (v. 2). "Arise, shine!" (v. 1a). That is the command. Let God fill you with the light of Christ. Let God change you and make you like Christ. Live by the light of Christ. Amen.