We’ve been working on creating light for a long time. As the sun set, our ancestors were busy rubbing sticks together to create sparks and build a fire. Later they graduated to striking flint, lighting oil lamps, and burning candles. Eventually, Thomas Edison gave us the crowning achievement of the lightbulb.
But the fires died. The lamps ran low on oil. The candles burned down into wax puddles. And those marvelous electric lights finally flickered out. Where was the true light, the constant spiritual hope and direction we were looking for? Isaiah promised us this:
The sun will no more be your light by day,
nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you,
for the LORD will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your glory. Isaiah 60:19 NIV
We stumble through our lives, through confusion and difficulty. Our opinions change. The goals we think we are shooting for can shift, almost overnight. Our hearts are inconstant – we feel bright like a candle one day only to find ourselves later in puddles of wax. Where is the perfect light that is true, constant, and never goes out? That promise finally came to us at the birth of our Lord:
9The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. John 1:9 NIV
In the same way, we’ve been building temples for centuries. With sacred dimensions, carefully carved wood, and the brightest gold – we did our best to build a place for what our hearts believed could be contained there. But nothing we could build could compare to what was now the perfect temple: Jesus Himself, in whom we can connect with God without a key, without inner rooms, without limitation.
by Carie Grant
