Lights

We take light for granted. Nowadays, we walk into a room, turn on a switch, and have lights. Motion detector lights simplify life by lighting the room as we walk in! Technology has changed – in our last house, all the lights were LCD. They were bright and economical. The prequel to modern-day lights was invented by Thomas Edison in 1879 (although others have attributed it to twenty other scientists, including Humphry Davy in 1802).

Ancient people didn’t have the luxury of modern technology and electric lights (although some claim Egyptians had electricity!). I spent several years of my childhood with my grandparents, who lived in a village without electricity. We had kerosene lamps. Every evening, my grandmother lined them up, cleaned the glass of soot, filled the lamp with kerosene, and, at dusk, lit them one by one. I didn’t like darkness or nighttime. But those lights gave some relief. I couldn’t wait for the sun to shine again.

In ancient days, people had even smaller sources of light – lamps with olive oil. They had to place the lamps in prominent places to light a room. It would have been still pretty dark compared to modern days.

Jesus said,

“No one, after lighting a lamp, hides it under a vessel or puts it under a cot. Instead, s/he places it on a stand so those entering the room can see with that light. The light reveals what’s hidden or unseeable, helping the one who enters the room.” (Luke 8:16–17)

The people would have understood precisely what he said. It would be like our parents saying, “Turn the light on before you go into your room so that you won’t trip on all the clothes and stuff piled on your floor.” My grandparents’ house had scorpions and snakes. They came out at night and crawled on the floor. So, we walked carefully with the light ahead of us, making every step visible.

Then the Lord said,

“See how you hear.” (8:18a)

What? See how you hear? Modern translations like the NIV have done a good job: “Consider carefully how you listen.” But the Lord said something like our parents’ instructions on crossing a road: “Stop, look, and listen.” You see, in darkness, our ears are as important (or more important) than our eyes are. Snakes and scorpions hiss, frogs crock, and other creepy crawlies make noises our ears can pick up. In the darkness of night, with little light from lamps, we need our eyes and ears to work together to avoid disasters. That’s why, “See how you hear.” When we do, we won’t lose things in the dark but find them (8:18b).

Even spiritually, we need to be alert – see and hear. Enemies lie await in darkness. We need to use all senses, not just eyes, to avoid them. Earlier, the Lord talked about how when the seed was sown, an enemy tried to remove it. We need to watch and listen to avoid the enemy’s attempts. Light plus eyes plus ears will keep us safe in the darkness of nights, literally and figuratively.