A Little Book for Lucy the Light
A Little Book for Lucy the Light.
A Soundtrack for Lucy (all the following songs are found on Youtube):
- This Little Light of Mine – Listener Kids.
- I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light – Notre Dame Magnificent Choir.
- I Saw the Light – Gaither Music TV with Jessy Dixon.
- Give Me Oil in My Lamp – Beautiful Hymn, BEKOFI, Creative Hub.
- Shine, Jesus, Shine – Big Sing at Royal Albert Hall.
- This Little Light of Mine – Gospel Dream Choir.
- Shine On – Dolly Parton.
- Let Your Light from the Lighthouse Shine On Me – Abbot Kinney lighthouse Choir.
- Morning Light – Josh Garrels.
- This Little Light of Mine – Springsteen in Dublin, Live.
- I Saw the Light – Backwoods Bluegrass.
- Let Your Light from the Lighthouse Shine on Me – Second Line Jazz Band.
- O Gladsome Light – GENTRI, Lyceum Philharmonic.
- Nunc Dimittus – Prayer Before Going To Sleep, Harpa Dei.
“You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.” (1 Thessalonians 5:5).
‘I Want to Walk As A Child of the Light:”
- I want to walk as a child of the light; I want to follow Jesus.
God sent the stars to give light to the world; the star of my life is Jesus.
(chorus) In Him there is no darkness at all, the night and the day are both alike.
The Lamb is the light of the city of God; Shine in my heart, Lord Jesus.
- I want to see the brightness of God; I want to look at Jesus.
Clear sun of righteousness, shine om my path, and show me the way to the Father.
(chorus)
- I’m looking for the coming of Christ; I want to be with Jesus.
When we have run with patience the race, we shall know the joy of Jesus.
(chorus)
A Prayer for Light to Shine Through: “Lord Jesus, I don’t want to add to the world’s darkness; I want to shine your light through my life. The darkness can be fearsome, but you have told us not to fear, because you have overcome the world and the darkness cannot douse your light. It’s in the matchless name of Jesus that I pray. Amen.”
Love at the Speed of Light. Love has come to us at the speed of light. Beaming from heaven’s glory, coming in radiant waves from light years away. Love continues to arrive at 186,000 miles per second, at 670 million miles per hour. Love can circle the earth seven times in one second. Nothing in creation moves faster than love at the speed of light. The light of eternal love is the world’s only constant quality, the one unchangeable fixture in the universe. Love at the speed of light. Coming right at us, face-to-face.
Here are six ways to walk as a child of the light:
- Let the sunlight flood your soul by following Jesus;
- Shine a bright light on your path in life by reading the Bible;
- Welcome the light of Christ into yourself by taking His Body and Blood;
- Spread God’s light to others by doing what Jesus would do;
- Speak words of light by telling the truth;
- Warm the hearts of family and friends with the light of your joy and kindness.
Creation: Unwrapping His robe of light at the dawn of time, the Father of Lights sang out, “Let there be light!” The Sun of Righteousness joins the morning stars and rejoices as the deep, empty darkness fades. The Consuming Fire declares that everything created will contain a flame from His eternal light. So light becomes the first creature, the main ingredient hidden in everything, the purpose of creation, that all things would reflect the light of His glory. The light humor of Creator God displayed in the Lightning Bug and the Flashing Fish, the Fiery Plankton and the Bermuda Fire Worm, the Blue-Ringed Octopus and the Firefly. Even the dust of the earth contains his light. Made in His radiant image, even the human body emits light. Eternally living in unapproachable light, the Lord God has invested His light as the one fixed material in His handiwork. In creation, Love came to the world at the speed of light.
God’s Light in Nature. Isn’t it fascinating to realize that all biologists agree that virtually all living creatures emit light. The lights emitted from nature’s creatures may be weak, and they may be invisible, but light literally exists in every living thing on the earth. As we study creation, it is easy to discover the unlimited number of ways that God has invested His light in nature. The various lights built into all creation point directly to God and His creative genius, God who is the source of all light in the universe. Let’s have some fun and look at a few more obvious and whimsical examples of how God has shared light in nature:
(1.) The Flashlight Fish. These fish have special pouches of glowing bacteria under their eyes. They can turn on their lights by simply lowering the folds of skin below each eye. Their primary protection from predators is called the “blink and run” strategy. When they sense trouble, they turn on their lights and swim in one direction. Then they quickly turn off their lights and swim in the opposite direction. The predators lose them in their confusion and give up.
(2.) The Fire Plants. There are microscopic plants in every ocean that are called “bioluminescent” plankton. These are extremely tiny marine plants that glow like swimming fireflies. They are able to absorb sunlight and then emit the stored light whenever the “mood” strikes them. Some say they light up when they sense pollution, or even when a large wave hits them under water. Unbelievably, these fire plants are able to glow blue, green, red or orange. Eyewitnesses report that it is an astoundingly beautiful sight to behold.
(3.) Fireflies. These common insects twinkle during summer evenings, as most of us have seen. They emit light from a tiny organ on the underside of their abdomen called a “lantern,” when a biological reaction takes place. Each firefly is able to generate this light whenever they please. Every species of firefly has a unique twinkling pattern, so that the mates are able to identify their own species. One might say these fireflies have been given by God a “twinkle feature” that allows each species of firefly to flourish.
(4.) The Bermuda Fire Worm. This marine animal produces its own light through the mixing of chemicals in its body. It produces what is called a “cold light” which doesn’t give off any heat, for the protection of the animals.
(5.) The Blue-Ringed Octopus. When disturbed or alarmed, this species of octopus will flash fluorescent blue circular rings all over its body. They are able to absorb and then store light from its environment, including the sun, and then emit that light if a predator approaches.
(6.) The Human Being. The human body also absorbs, stores, and emits light. We absorb sunlight through various pigments on the skin, which then travels through the blood system. The human eye is especially sensitive to absorb light through the light’s radiation. Because the human face tends to receive the most sunlight, the face tends to glow more than the rest of the body, invisibly of course. Humans absorb primarily violet-blue light from our environment. In fact, we can absorb light and then turn it into energy… When we warm ourselves in the sun, we actually reduce our need to burn calories in order to maintain the correct body temperature. We are then able to emit waves of electromagnetic radiation, or thermal radiation. This light we emit can be seen on infrared cameras. Remember that strange story of Moses having to wear a veil, because He shone so brightly with God’s light that his people were uncomfortable? The story is in Exodus 34:29, and it reads, “Moses did not know that the skin of his face was radiant because he had been talking with Yahweh. It was so radiant that they were afraid to go near him… So he put a veil over his face.” This story doesn’t seem so strange now. The human body is able to absorb and emit light, and there was Moses, with sustained exposure to the Source of all the light in the universe. So, naturally, his face absorbed some of the divine light and then he emitted outwards.
“Now you have the very light of our Lord shining through you because of your union with Him. Your mission is to live as children of light. And the supernatural fruits of His light will be seen in you – goodness, righteousness and truth.” (Ephesians 5:8-10).
(Maybe put the following in the “For When You are Older” category?)
A Prayer to Let My Light Shine: “O Lord, I thank you for the light that shines from within! Help me this day to recognize the several points of light that shine within me: the light of faith, the light of hope, the light of love! Regardless of whether or not the sun is shining or the rain is falling, remind me that there is a light that you have given me that will never go out. Help me through my life to brighten the world of the depressed, to glow in a world of darkness and to shine when others struggle to find joy. Remind me that I have a light and that you have commanded me to let my light shine. In a time of war, may my light be a light of peace. In a time of hate, may my light be a light of love. In a time of poverty, may my light be a light of prosperity. In a time of scarcity, may my light be a light of abundance. Bless me this day to be a light to the world. Help me this day to let my light shine that all people might see your goodness, mercy and power, shining through what they see in me. Through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior we pray. Amen.” (Composed by Rev. Dr. Nicholas Hood III)
What does light do? How do we become children of the light? Not so we can shine like a light bulb, but so we can do what light does… heal wounds, reveal truth, warm what is cold, sustain life, show the way, dispel darkness, clean out impurities, and clarify one’s vision. Light’s properties are needed in the world, and we need to let our little light shine.
Walking into the Light. How can we live into the light that Jesus is shining on us, becoming healers, revealers, sustainers, purifiers and dispellers? How can we show the way, for ourselves and others? What do we need to do to show forth our imbedded light that has as its source God’s light, taking seriously Paul’s words in Eph. 5:8: “You are light in the Lord”?