Drawing the Light // 2 Corinthians 4:6

Happy World Photo and World Photography Day! The word, photography, literally means, “drawing the light.” British scientist, Sir John Herschel, came up with the term in 1839. He used the Greek word phōtós, which means “light,” and graphê which means, “drawing or writing”.

Light is perhaps the primary metaphor for God in the Bible. We read in Genesis that the first thing God called for in creation was light. John’s gospel begins by telling us that light is none other than Jesus. Jesus later reinforced that He is indeed the light and shines perpetually for those who choose to follow Him. We see that God drew the light as Jesus from creation, redemption, and our very own re-creation.

I love 2 Corinthian 4:6 when it comes to the Lord giving us the Light of the World, “God said that light should shine out of the darkness. He is the same one who shone in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory in the face of Jesus Christ” (CEB). God draws the light in us when we accept that Jesus is God’s one and only Son; that God the Father raised Him from the dead; and confess that He is the only hope we have for salvation. God draws that Jesus light into your heart so it may radiate in the rest of your life. That’s the kind of light that draws others to it, like moths to a flame. We see that the idea of drawing the light has a double meaning…it gives us a face to acknowledge Jesus, as well as an identity to attract others to Him.

Will you draw the light today? Help put a face on the love of God in Jesus. When you do that, people will be attracted to it. So let’s draw the light for and with God, knowing He will draw others to Him through you, too!