ARISE, SHINE TO DIVINE LIGHT

“ARISE, SHINE; for YOUR LIGHT has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you” – Isaiah 60:1

God’s Prophetic Command to Believers is to ARISE, SHINE to DIVINE LIGHT: “ARISE, SHINE; for YOUR LIGHT has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles shall come to YOUR LIGHT, and kings to the brightness of your rising” (Isa.60:1-3). Isaiah used the word “light” twenty-four times. He declared: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great LIGHT” (9:2a); “I will also give You as a LIGHT to the Gentiles, that You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth” (49:6b); “Then your LIGHT shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily” (58:8); and “...For the LORD will be your everlasting LIGHT...” (60.20).

Looking back in retrospect with New Testament eyes, we see that Isaiah was referring to our Lord Jesus Christ; no longer a pre-incarnate Christ, but the co-Creator of the world Who spoke in unison with the Father, “Let there be light” (Gen.1:3). Christ left the realm of perfect, brilliant light to bring radiance into a dark and dreary world. He declared, “I am the Light of the world” (Jh.8:12). More astonishing is that He tells His followers, “You are the Light of the world” (Mt.5:14). That’s quite a tall order, moving from Jesus, Lord of the universe, to us, mere creatures, having such a crucial function in the world! The reality is: When we belong to Jesus Christ, He lives in us. We are in Him and He in us. What He is, we become. If He is Light, then we are light. What an awesome task and responsibility!

God has proclaimed the dawning of the Light of His Glory upon His covenant people. As deep darkness covers the earth, God’s Glory is covering His people, liberating the bound from dungeons of darkness! Christ – our Light – has come; we must ARISE, SHINE! The Light inside us is Christ. When we allow Him to manifest, we become what we are meant to be. Our function fits our form. We serve His purpose: “Let YOUR LIGHT so SHINE before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Mt.5:16).

It takes the arrival of the Light to arise and shine. Until He came, God’s Glory could not be seen upon us! The Light releases power to arise, shine, and ride in realms of glory. Philippians 2:15 assures that we can “become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you SHINE as LIGHTS in the world.” God commands: “AWAKE, you who sleep, ARISE from the dead, and Christ will give you LIGHT” (Eph.5:14). Beloved, let’s Awake, Arise, Shine, and Ride in the Light!