What does light represent spiritually? Light and darkness have been the subject of religious and philosophical teachings since the dawn of time. Continue reading to learn the Spiritual meaning of light and darkness and the difference between light and darkness in the bible.
Light and darkness are a big part of our spiritual lives. They’re the two things that make up everything we see, hear, and feel, and they represent two very different ideas about how we should live our lives.
Light is often associated with goodness and purity, while darkness is associated with evil or wrongness. It’s no surprise that most religions use light to symbolize good things like God or hope, while dark symbols tend to represent things like fear or death.
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Spiritual Meaning Of Light And Darkness
In the experience of religion and the church, darkness, the opposite of light, has come to mean all that separates us from God, because God is light. Light is the symbol of salvation, spiritual growth and discernment. But it can only be understood and appreciated when we contrast and compare it to the darkness
In general, light represents enlightenment; it’s a way for us to see clearly and understand what’s going on around us. Darkness is associated with ignorance; it blinds us from seeing anything beyond our own experiences and keeps us from understanding what others are going through.
Light represents goodness, temperance, joy, hope and everything that is good and pure in the world, while darkness represents hatred, greed, sadness, sinfulness and evil. Since both light and darkness exist in this universe as well as in our very existence, a spiritual meaning of light and darkness can be drawn from that. It is often challenging for one to really understand the true meaning of light or darkness, which actually lies within us all. Here are some amazing examples of the spiritual meaning of light and darkness .
Light and Dark. Good and Evil. Yin and Yang. These phrases capture two sides of the same coin, like two sides of the same curtain, seemingly separated but in actuality connected by a single thread. The root of this connection is the Source which both the light and dark originated from. In fact, the light could not exist without the dark and vice versa (the name Lucifer is Latin for Light-Bearer). The source of this connection can be demonstrated using simple mathematics:
Difference Between Light And Darkness In The Bible
Light and darkness are two of the most fundamental elements in the universe. They are opposites, but they also exist in harmony with one another. The balance between light and darkness is necessary for life to exist.
The spiritual meaning of light and darkness can be interpreted in many ways depending on your beliefs, but generally speaking, light represents truth, knowledge, and health, while darkness represents ignorance, evil, and illness.
Light has long been associated with divine energy in many religions around the world. In Christianity and Judaism, it is believed that God created light before creating anything else in order to set an example for humanity: that we should strive to be like God by being good people who seek knowledge and live healthy lives without allowing ourselves to be overcome by greed or hatred.
In Hinduism, Brahma created light first before creating anything else out of clay at the beginning of time so that we would know ourselves as part of something greater than ourselves—the universe itself—and thus be able to see the true nature of reality (which includes both light and darkness).
In Buddhism, Buddha taught that all things come from nothingness (darkness) alone; when you realize this truth about yourself then you will find enlightenment
Light and darkness are important symbols in many religions and spiritual practices. Light is often seen as a metaphor for good or knowledge, while darkness can be understood as a symbol of evil or ignorance.
In the Bible, light is often used as a metaphor for God’s presence and wisdom. In the Old Testament, God is said to have created light on the first day of creation (Genesis 1:3). In the New Testament, Jesus uses this metaphor when he says “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12).
In Buddhism, light is also an important symbol. According to legend, stars from heaven lit up a tree where the Buddha was born. This tree became known as the Bodhi Tree (also known as The Tree of Enlightenment), which Buddhists use to symbolize enlightenment and knowledge.
What Is The Spiritual Meaning of Darkness
What Does the ‘Light in the Darkness’ in John 1:5 Mean?
Jesus is our “Light that shines in the darkness.” Did you notice the major difference in the two versions of John 1:5? Darkness not “comprehending” the light versus darkness not “overcoming” it? It seems a little off. Why would the same verse use such very different words in the English translations?
In our modern English word-sense, “comprehending” and “overcoming” are not exactly synonymous. One implies a passive, even sedentary appraisal, and the other, a fierce struggle for victory.
But Crosswalk author Rick Renner explained the intent of the original Greek wording in his article “Darkness Cannot Overcome the Light.” According to Renner, “comprehended” is built from a combination of “kata,” the Greek word for dominating or defeating, and “lambano” which means “seizing.” Put together, you get the sense of that fierce struggle for victory more than an academic analysis.
The New International Version of “overcoming” conveys the Greek implication of conflict.
But throughout the Bible, light has a dual association with both truth and goodness, just as darkness is linked to lies and evil. In other words, understanding God’s truth and goodness are one and the same. And obscuring God’s truth and evil are also the same.
So the original King James translation that the darkness “comprehendeth” it not also bears weight. Understanding and truth are foundational tenets of the light of the Trinity. The greater context of John 1 attests to this, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” –John 1:1 (KJV)
3 Ways Jesus Is Our ‘Light that Shines in the Darkness’
In the first words of his gospel, John proclaims God and the Word are one. Just as God and Jesus are one. Jesus, the way, the truth, and the light. Jesus, the misunderstood. Jesus, the victor.
As we look to celebrate Christ in these winter days, it is helpful to consider three comforting ways Jesus will always be our light that shines through the darkness.
Jesus’ Light is Pure
Pure. The word itself may make some of us a little uncomfortable. As cognizant adults, we are painfully aware of our own lack of purity. But purity personified in Christ reminds us that it is a very good, attractive, and necessary quality in our sin-cursed world.
In this season of the year, what better way to symbolize the pureness of Christ than the likeness of a newborn baby?
Everyone loves babies. We are drawn to them. Our whole world gets a little bit brighter in their presence. We all know why, too. It is their purity that draws us to them, that makes us want to bask in a goodness our world-weary hearts can only yearn for.
On the very first Christmas, a purity brighter than all our babies put together came into the world. The righteousness that our hearts hunger and thirst for daily (Matthew 5:6).
A man who needed no filter when he spoke. Whose every word could be relied upon. Whose every word was the Word shining light into our ignorance and sin.
A man who set a perfect example. Who shone his purity into our lives so that we could live in his light for eternity.
Jesus’ Light is Healing
Healing. That is something we all long for, and not just in a pandemic year.
Even more than the wisdom of his teachings, one of the first things that comes to mind when we think of Jesus’s ministry was his supernatural power of healing.
A single touch, or, in the case of a centurion’s servant, simply speaking the words, brought miraculous and transformative healing to the bodies of the suffering.
For Lazarus of Bethany and a temple leader’s daughter, he even brought resurrection from the dead.
But Jesus’s power of healing extends far beyond the confines of our mortal frames. In many ways, the most popular verse in all the Bible is about Jesus healing a lost and broken world. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” –John 3:16 (KJV)
In many ways, it is a verse about the saving power of love—the most healing force in all the world. If we reflect on our own faith journeys and those of our fellow Christians, everyone who has personally experienced the love of Christ, whether it was a salvation experience or another encounter, did not leave the same way they entered. We were transformed. Loved. Healed.
Whether it is the darkness of a physical disease or the weight of a life plagued by sin and struggle, the light of Jesus’s love will always be strong enough to overpower any darkness we face—and save us forever
Jesus’ Light is Life-Giving
Jesus is God incarnate and God is the giver of life. God’s first spoken words in the Bible brought forth both light and life. In the book of Genesis, the world was a dark and formless void, until God’s first creative act which began with the words, “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3).
According to John, the light of Jesus also brought life-giving power. “In him was life, and the life was the light of men”–John 1:4.
Sometimes, even believers feel lost in the darkness. It has been thousands of years since Jesus walked among us, and it can be hard to fumble along without a physical presence to guide us. Yet his life-giving power can still light our way even when we don’t know where to turn, a confusion Thomas voiced during the Last Supper when Jesus announced his departure was at hand.
“Lord, we know not whither thou goest and how can we know the way?” –John 14:5.
Jesus’s reply spoke a truth that still guides us today. “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”
Following Jesus will always direct our path towards the true source of light in the darkness.
Following Jesus will also carry us into the much brighter horizon of a new tomorrow.
Before he brought her brother back to life in the town of Bethany, Jesus reminded the weeping Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life.” –John 11:25. It was a promise of hope beyond the grave. The same promise he later spoke to Thomas and the rest of his disciples.
“In my Father’s house are many mansions… I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2). The light of Jesus will not only overcome the darkness of this present world but bring us into the brightness of a perfect one.
Even after our own lives pass away. Even after the world as we know it passes away.
What Does Light Represent Spiritually
We’ve heard that things sometimes get worse before they get better. According to John’s last writings, they certainly will. Dark times face all of us today, and even darker times face the world tomorrow. A time of tribulation, of nature at war with itself, and a time where demons will seem to rule the day.
But even after a level of darkness most of us can’t even begin to imagine—darkness we are still called to prepare our children for—Jesus’s light will be there to shine its life through all the desolation. A light that will one day give life to a “new heaven and a new earth” (Rev 21:1). A world in which every tear shall be wiped from our eyes (Rev 21:4).
A world where no darkness will be left to challenge our Light when he proclaims, “Behold, I make all things new” –Revelation 21:5
As we look up from the struggles of the year to a Christmas season of light and hope, we can truly celebrate our Reason that shines through the dark days of a pandemic and the dark age of sin. Though pressures can accumulate this time of year, let us remember our victory has already been won and all our darkness overcome.