When our kids were little, our son had a thing for torches – if we ever went out shopping and ventured anywhere near either a hardware store or a general store which sold torches, we would rarely leave without him having spent all his pocket money on a new torch. (‘I can’t help it, it’s so beautiful.’) Wind up torches, novelty torches, pocket torches, LEDs – you name it, he had one.
I do remember one particular occasion when we bought one at a supermarket in the middle of summer and, as we left the shop, our son was jumping up and down and tugging at my arm shouting ‘Make it dark, Daddy, make it dark!’ (Those were the days when your kids thought you could do anything, rather than viewed as decrepit and embarrassing old people – those were the days!)
But that’s the point about light, isn’t it? It only works in the darkness. A torch in the middle of a summer’s day is useless. So, when the psalmist utters these famous words – ‘Your word is a lamp to my feet and light to my path’ – he makes one big assumption we often miss: it’s dark!
And that’s the key here – to live in this world is to live with a certain amount of darkness. There’s the darkness of evil and selfishness, but also the twilight of not knowing everything. Life is complicated, it’s confusing, it’s hard to see too far ahead. We need a decent light – and God’s word provides that light. In fact, there are several lovely images here – it’s a life preserver (v107), it’s our heritage (v111), and it brings us great joy, all of which we could feast on….
Today, though we focus on light – the bible is a light to our path.
But let’s note that it’s a light, not a map. We often want to read the bible like a map – to point to the exact destination, or direct us down the exact route. But God’s word goes deeper – it shows us how to live, how to approach the decisions we make, the relationships we have, the way we use our time, our talents and our money. It’s not a map, it’s a light: it illuminates the space in which we live.
And, like a light, it has an outer edge, it doesn’t let us see too far into the darkness, just far enough to know we’re still on the path and going the right way.
The light image works in another way, too: the more we know God’s word, the more powerful our light will be, the farther it will shine. Do you want a more powerful torch in your life? Psalm 119 tells us where to look. As we close our week, and whatever you’re facing in life at present, may God remind us all today of the truth of this beautiful phrase: ‘Your word is a lamp to my feet and light to my path’. And may you discover that light, wherever your path leads. Amen.