Light is one of the great metaphors presented in Scripture. While darkness represents Satan and all of the confusion, distress and evil of his kingdom, light is a fit emblem of the Lord and the great family of God.
The apostle John said that “God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. ” (1 John 1:5) James simply called Him “the Father of lights” (James 1:17), while the apostle Paul said He “dwells in unapproachable light.” (1 Timothy 6:16) The Psalmist said that He covers Himself with light as with a cloak. (Psalm 104:2) So whatever else may be said about light, we know that, at the very least, God is the source of it. Light emanates from His being, from His throne and from His kingdom.
One of the unmistakable attributes of light is that it shows believers how to proceed on the journey of life. The psalmist wrote, “Thy word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105) He also said, “The unfolding of Thy words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.” (Psalm 119:130) Solomon wrote that “the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day.” (Proverbs 4:18)
The fact is that we are on a lifelong journey through a dark and treacherous world. We desperately need God’s light to show us the way, to reveal truth and expose falsehood, to illuminate the entirety of our inner being: heart, mind and soul.
One of the great principles of the Kingdom is that a man shall reap what he sows. It is a clear-cut truth that definite consequences—whether good or bad—will accompany our actions. Our subject verse above presents a similar principle, albeit with one noteworthy difference: the godly do not sow the “harvest of light” themselves but it is sown on their behalf. It is as if a band of angels goes along with them on their path, scattering seeds of spiritual light in front of them, around them and in their wake. Not only are they blessed with light for their own lives, but they become the means for light to be spread upon other lives as well. Those seeds of light—like sparks flying off a grinder—will be scattered all about them. Such seeds will eventually bring forth a harvest.