Do you know Gyro Gearloose, that... - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2024

The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned.
Matthew 4:16

Do you know Gyro Gearloose, that ingenious inventor in the Donald Duck stories? When he has a good idea, a light bulb lights up above his head. In English we have the expression, ‘a light-bulb moment’.

And we have certainly experienced it ourselves: we are groping in the dark, we lack perspective, we are racking our brains – and suddenly everything ‘clicks’ and it all becomes clear: ‘a light comes on’.

The expression ‘a light comes on’ has its origin in the Bible. In our verse of the day, the Lord Jesus quotes from the prophet Isaiah and speaks of a time that is dark, of a people “who sat in darkness”, of a land over which the shadow of death had settled. Everywhere there is “trouble and darkness” and “thick darkness” (Isaiah 8:22). But suddenly a light comes to this people, because they see “a great light”: Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah, the Redeemer, is there. As a result, everything is bright.

When Jesus Christ entered the world, it became light for mankind. He Himself is “the light of the world” (John 8:12). He made everything manifest that had been in darkness until then. Whether the truth about God, or about mankind and how God judges us – everything has been revealed through the Son of God. We are no longer in the dark. We are also reliably informed about the future of the earth and of man. But there is one who wants to blind us: the devil. With all his cunning he wants to prevent “the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ” from shining out to man. Let us not be deceived! Only the “true Light” enlightens every person (2 Corinthians 4:4; John 1:9).

Today’s reading: 1 Kings 10:14-29 · John 8:21-30