When God first created his “lights in the expanse of the sky,” their nighttime display as viewed from the Garden of Eden must have been something spectacular. No bright man-made lights illuminated Adam and Eve’s garden home, so their sky was not dimmed. No man-made pollution cast its pall over God’s newly-formed heavens. They saw the moon’s full glory. Every star was bright. Each falling star, each passing comet, was a dazzling sight. In your imagination can you see Adam and Eve standing beside the river late one night just taking in the skyview?
Almost unbelievably, we can now reverse the direction of that view. A new space station is in orbit which has photographed the earth at night with all our lights ablaze. Our effort to drive away the darkness can be viewed on the Internet continent by continent.
Viewing earth’s nighttime lights from space (or noticing their absence) clearly divides the haves from the have-nots. Western Europe sparkles like a Christmas tree, but a look at the continent to the south gives new meaning to the term “darkest” Africa. Israel shines, but its Arab neighbors do not. Adam and Eve’s old homesite appears to be about as dark as it was when they lived there. Cities along the Nile River trace a bright squiggle and remind us that the Nile has long been the lifeline of Egypt.
In North America, Canadian lights reveal that most of their population lives near the U.S. border. America’s eastern seaboard stands out brightly, especially the New York to Boston corridor. On our other coast, the Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles areas shout out that they’re using a tremendous amount of power.
And speaking of light, the Bible says Jesus is the light of men and that he came into the world as a light that shines in a dark place. Jesus himself said that his followers were the light of the world and their light should shine before men.
Imagine for a moment that the space station is documenting the illumination that Jesus has brought into the world. On what continent, in which country, along what river, or in which city does his light shine most brightly? Are there clusters of Christians who clearly brighten the dark world? Are there easily defined corridors of divine enlightenment? Perhaps more importantly, how do we fit into this picture? Are we walking in the light? Do we glow with the glory of Jesus?