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Let There Be Light: When God Creates Light

  • Writer: Trace Pirtle
    Trace Pirtle
  • Jun 27
  • 7 min read

Updated: Jul 3


Walking the Emmaus Road - Mile One of Seven


What was it really like before light existed? Join me as we explore that Genesis moment when God spoke "Let there be light" into cosmic darkness. This is more than ancient history—it's why we face daily choices between light and darkness, why staying "in the flow" requires martial artist discipline, and how that original act impacts every decision we make today. Grab your Jesus sandals, and let's begin our first discussion of how God's Light is presented in the Bible.



Bright burst of light with colorful rays extending outward on a dark background, creating a dynamic, radiant visual effect.
Let There Be Light

Let There Be Light: Standing at the Edge of Mystery


As we begin our walk today and discuss Category 1: When God Creates Light, isn't it comforting to know that we don't need to have all the answers to God's mysteries? If our Heavenly Father wants us to get closer to Him—and He does—maybe He is interested (perhaps even amused?) in our wonderings about His creation of light.


Maybe He will have moments when He smiles and says to us, "Good insight, keep it flowing!" Other times, perhaps, He just shakes His head in loving bewilderment.

Still other times He may burst into laughter, but hopefully, He will never shed a tear for anything we may say or do that offends Him.


It is with a respectful and loving heart, mind, and spirit that we take our first steps into Creational Light—the foundational light that orders creation. So, let there be light as we journey ahead.


What do you think it was like when the earth was without form, and when there was darkness on the face of the deep? I can hardly imagine that, can you? Job wrestled with this mystery too when God asked him,


"Where is the way to the dwelling of light? And darkness, where is its place,.." Job 38:19.

I'm accustomed to God's creation, which includes Cardinals chirping outside my window as the first rays of sunshine announce a new day.


We are living life after God accomplished His work in the beginning—before time, space, or matter. God (the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit) exists outside the constraints that encapsulate you and me.


The Psalmist reminds us:


"O Lord my God, You are very great; You are clothed with honor and majesty, Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment,.." Psalm 104:1-2.

So, let's imagine God there in the beginning, cracking His knuckles, and saying to the Son and Holy Spirit, "Let's create something... hummm... how about everything, but we'll start with light."


"Then God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness." Genesis 1:3-4.

Why? Was God sitting there in the dark saying, "I can't see a thing! I need to turn on some lights! How am I supposed to work in the dark?" That makes perfect sense to us, and we'll use "the lights went out" as a good reason to stop work.


But I'm not convinced God created light so He could see to make the firmament in the midst of the waters. (Read ahead to Genesis 1:6 if you have no idea what I'm talking about.)


I think He was thinking about us—you and me—not Himself. Paul captures this beautifully:


"For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of the darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ"  2 Corinthians 4:6.

He was establishing for us the prerequisites for further study of His Word; that is, among other truths, there is good (light) and darkness (evil). He was giving us a preview of coming attractions that in His presence, there is only light.


Wrestling with Light and Darkness


Isn't it interesting that God called the light "good" before anything else? I wonder why that is? Well, everything else He created was likewise good in His eyes because He can't be (or create) anything that isn't good. Maybe it's His way of reassuring us that everything that comes from Him, beginning with light, is good, as separate from anything that is not good.


He also needed to separate the light from the darkness because it reflects opposites, rather than simply offering one choice. Take the light. Period.


No. He intended to create conditions in which people had to make free-will choices. Isaiah reminds us that God said,


"I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the Lord, do all these things" Isaiah 45:7.

In our daily lives, we seldom see that the choices we must make are black and white. Why? Psychologically, we want to eliminate the binary (exp., true or false) option and instead use a scale to reflect degrees of good and bad, right and wrong, and so on.


If God asks, "Did you lie today?" He is looking for an honest yes or no. He isn't looking for "no, except for that tiny white lie." It's like the old saying, "Do everything ethically, within reason, of course."


We don't like forced choices because they suggest there is a clear right and wrong response. God appears to establish light and darkness as a way of making that point. There's either truth or error.


Thus, He couldn't simply banish darkness completely, because it would relegate humans to mere puppets without free will to choose between light and darkness.


It seems that God wants us to live in a state of tension between light and darkness every day. God's Word gives us the "playbook" ("All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness" - 2 Timothy 3:16) for a winning season... all day games... perfect weather...


However, some games are played at night, sometimes in wind, rain, snow, blazing heat, and frigid cold. We must practice in all conditions with all kinds of opponents. But the closer we stay to God's Heavenly Playbook, the greater our probability of winning in the end.


I think God has intentionally created light and darkness to see how we use His Word to move further from the darkness, passing through the gray, and consistently recognizing the Light, so that we may remain in it.


I've referred to remaining in the light as staying in the flow. It's like a beam of light... a flow of God's Light... that rains down on me like a waterfall. So I say, "Show up, look up, and stay in the flow!"


When the Breeze Becomes a Typhoon


You may be wondering how I know when I'm drifting... being blown... from light to darkness. You see, I no longer want to accept anything except black and white in my "ideal." If it's God's Way, it must be my Way, even if it's not the world's way.


I came across something similar while studying Shotokan Karate (also known as Karate-Do, a style founded by Gichin Funakoshi). I was taught that initially, Shotokan recognized two belt colors, white and black. Culture changed Shotokan's solid stance from the two ideal states of white and black to the colored belt system we have today.


New practitioners couldn't persist long enough to move from white belt to black belt without seeing some acknowledged "progress." Essentially, they were unable to defer gratification.


However, many, regardless of whether they earn a yellow or orange belt, are still blown away by the demands of training and the discipline required to achieve a black belt. They fall away because they didn't establish a "root"—a grounding that allows them to weather the storms.


I read about how Gichin Funakoshi had such a strong, rooted, horse stance that he stood on top of a house during a typhoon and didn't get blown off the roof! Whether this is truth or hyperbole, I don't know.


But I do know this: if my rooting, my grounding in God's Word, isn't solid, anchored to the Rock, Jesus Christ, it doesn't take more than a breeze to knock me out of the flow, the Light.


On my own, I can find perfect rationalizations for why I'm in a gray area. But the reality is that I have allowed a non-black and white Biblical lifestyle to blow me slightly off course.


Scripture tells us in the parable of the sower (see Matthew 13:1-23; Mark 4:1-20; and Luke 8:4-15) that we must always be planted in good soil. Good soil and the Rock of Christ may appear contradictory in symbolism, but careful consideration reveals that the lesson is the same.


So, if we choose to not make excuses or allowances for the "gray," we are better able to remain grounded when the breeze stirs, the typhoons howl, the rapids of life rage, and remain standing in God's Light—the Flow that illuminates our path and shines light on the darkness.


A White Belt on the Sanctification Highway


I'd love to tell you, brothers and sisters on the pilgrim path, that I'm the latter-day Christian equivalent of Gichin Funakoshi! That I can stand in a horse stance in the middle of life's storms without breaking a sweat!


The reality is, I'm a white belt on the sanctification highway somewhere between where I was (as a nonbeliever) and where I'm heading as an on-fire ambassador of Christ who attempts to approximate "the Way."


As with martial arts training, our horse stance can become stronger and deeper the more we train and the longer we train.


I find a parallel to this with my Walk with Jesus. I can "train" my mind for discerning wisdom through the study of His Word... I can feel His arm around me when I need encouragement or consolation... I can even stand in the face of an "adversary" of God without losing my cool (usually, but not always).


But here is where the martial arts analogy breaks down. Just because I train more, doesn't necessarily guarantee I will "win the race" as Paul put it, or the tournament, and carry home a trophy for the Dojo.


We can never "train" hard enough to win our spot in heaven. Because only God's grace can offer that through His Son Jesus Christ.


But until I truly "see the Light," I will continue to approximate my life according to His Word... in His Perfect Light... to the best of my ability. And, as long as I'm a white belt disciple of Jesus, I may as well keep studying His Word... seeking opportunities to shine His light during those night games... and keep my grounding when the winds blow hard against my ego of iron.


Because the Apostle Paul said there is some benefit in physical exercise, maybe I'll start reading my Bible in the horse stance? It's all good training, and it makes God smile. Come to think of it, when I sense God smiling, that's when I know I'm standing in the bright white light.


In the next post, we'll continue our seven-mile journey as we explore Category 2: When God Shows Up as Light. Until then, remember to show up, look up, and stay in the flow!


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