1.5.26 - Lisa Liou
Monday, January 5, 2025
Genesis 1:3-5
The devotions this week are written by Lisa Liou. Lisa is the founder and executive director of All Gen Movement, a Christian ministry dedicated to healing the generations and renewing the Church. She previously served over 20 years with InterVarsity, most recently as Regional Director in the Western US. She is married to Jeff, an ordained CRC minister, and together they live in Monrovia, CA with their two teenagers.
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
As we begin this devotional on the theme of light, consider lighting a candle.
In Genesis, things started out empty, void, and dark. God’s very first act in creation is introducing the presence of light. This is not the same as the sun, which God creates on the fourth day (vs. 14-15). On this first day, we curiously have light without the sun. Some say God’s presence alone is what brings light.
It’s hard, and maybe even impossible, for us to envision this pre-creation scene, where there was only water, darkness, and the Spirit. But anyone who has ever been lost, scared, or cold in the night can understand the benefit of light.
Light illuminates and warms. Without it, we cannot make out the forms around us with clarity. In the unknown of night, a sense of danger increases. In contrast, there is a sense of safety in the day where things cannot be hidden.
My family and I used to visit a camp on Catalina Island which had no electricity outside of the bathhouse and kitchen. Each family was given a rechargeable lantern to place in their cabin or tent. When dusk settled, the paths that had become familiar by day felt eerie and uncertain. A slight dip in the pathway could cause you to lose your footing.
Dawn, on the other hand, was welcome. Beginning in the early morning, you could see the blue sea and the dusty brown canyon returning to view. You could make the same journey you made in the dark with ease and confidence. If you had shivered the night before, you could begin to warm up.
With electricity as a part of our daily lives, we no longer must live by the natural rhythms of dark and light. If we did, we would have an innate sense of how darkness prepares us to welcome the light.
This week we will focus on God bringing light into the darkness. Ultimately, he does that through Christ coming into the world. But he begins by introducing light into the creation.
How does God bringing light into darkness as the first act of creation help you understand God and God’s presence in the world?
Where are you longing for God’s light? Feel free to try this prayer. As you breathe in say, Light of the world, and as you breathe out say, let your light shine.