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April 1, 2006
John 8:12 – As the sun
is the physical light, so Jesus is the Spiritual Light.
1 John 1:5 – God is Light
Hebrews 1:1-3 Jesus is the express image of God.
As we use words to express ourselves, so Jesus, as the Word of God, is
the expression of God.
Revelation 21:23 – In Heaven there is no need for the sun, moon or
stars, Jesus, The Lamb of God will be the Lamp of God - The Light of
Heaven.
Luke 9: 29-31 – the transfiguration of Jesus before His disciples.
In this passage in Luke, we have Jesus and three disciples on the mountain. While Jesus is praying, his disciples fall asleep. When they awake, it is to such a glimpse of Him they would never be able to forget it. (The first time I came across these verses was over thirty years ago, and I have never been able to forget the images they brought up to my mind.) It was a night scene – yet they saw such light – and it was coming from Jesus Himself! From the core of His being – for He was, and is, the Fountain of Light!
They were seeing a foretaste of His Glory, and more – there were two men with Him, also in His Glory. All were radiant, but Jesus’ whole being – His face, His body, His clothes were “glistering” – an old word that means the light was flashing like bursts of light shooting from Him, and through His clothes! Imagine what those disciples were feeling and thinking as they sat in what had been darkness. Before this the Light of Who He is was hidden while He walked on earth, but now they had this glimpse of Jesus as pure light, and such light that the darkness could not stay. It could not, and cannot, overpower that Light.
In Heaven we shall see Him, as He is - Wonderful, Glorious Light - in His Person. Just as He is now Light to our hearts, minds, to our souls and our spirits, He will then be Light to our eyes as well. And that day when we shall see Him in Glory, face to face, we will know the joy of walking with Him in that Wonderful Light.
This passage of the transfiguration is a little of Who Jesus is to me as God. What it means to me to think of Him as God. When we try to picture God in His Glory, we tend to think of “radiance” or “bright Light” – The word “Glory” comes to mind – but how do you define it?
about the author
Esther Swyer was born in
Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia. The eldest of eight children
she married at twenty-one and promptly had six children. She
became a Christian in October of 1958 at the age of twenty-five
and was baptised in December of that year. She began teaching a
Sunday School class of a dozen nine to ten year olds
in 1961 or 1962 and has been
teaching various age groups ever since.
Esther began teaching adults and leading Bible studies sometime in the seventies. She became involved in WMS in the late sixties and held various positions over the years, then in the early to mid-seventies she started serving on the Association Council. On top of all that she was involved for many years in ladies retreats serving as small groups director for around twenty years. Currently Esther is president of the WMS on the Association level, treasurer of her church, adult ladies class teacher, and is completing her third year as a church deacon.
Her first marriage ended after twenty-two years. She re-married thirteen years later in December 1988 and was widowed in June of 2000. She has eighteen grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Esther has just published a book about her spiritual journey.