The first light bulb patent was issued on January 27, 1880. Since then we have become almost completely dependent upon them. They have also become symbols for “shedding light” or “seeing the light” in various ways. The light bulb in comic strips stands for an idea occurring to one of the characters.
In Bible class the other morning we were talking about moments we have when we study, times when all of a sudden everything makes sense, or something new strikes us that we never thought about before. Sometimes I call them epiphanies, but more often I say I had a “light bulb moment.” You would think that the older you get, the fewer of those moments you have because you know more, right? Light bulb moments have nothing to do with how much you know. While it is true that you won’t have them if you do not learn, it is also true that you won’t have them if all you do is cram facts into your head. Light bulb moments come because you have thought about what you know. You have, as my grandmother used to say “studied on it”—by that she meant, turned it over and over, and come at it from all directions.
If I have been a Christian for ten, twenty, thirty years and have experienced none of these moments, then maybe I need to examine my acquaintance with the scriptures. If all I can do is recite pet phrases and scriptures, then God’s word is not living in my life as it should. In fact, it has nothing to do with my everyday life at all—maybe I just use it to prove some doctrine wrong. I don’t think that is what God had in mind.
These light bulb moments should go off in my mind because I use the scriptures often, think about them often, and live by them every day. Paul and John both call the scriptures “the Word of Life,” Phil 2:16; 1 John 1:1, but they won’t give me life if I don’t use them regularly. If I don’t have any light bulb moments, I am living in the dark, no matter how many scriptures I can recite or how often I “go to church.”
Luke 24:16 tells us of two men whose “eyes were holden that they should not know him.” Jesus had a reason for that, but when the time was right “their eyes were opened,” v 31. Later on as he spoke to the disciples, “opened he their minds that they might understand the scriptures,” v 45. After approximately three years of teaching, he expected them to start having “light bulb moments,” and they did. As accustomed as he was to using everyday things in his teaching, if they had had light bulbs in their homes, I bet he would have used that very phrase. Now it’s our turn to have them.
[I] cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory may give unto you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your heart enlightened that you may know what is the hope of this calling, the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and the exceeding greatness of his power to us who believe... Eph 1:16-19
Dene Ward
For hints, help, and instructions on using this blog, click on the FAQ/Tutorial page on the left sidebar
In Bible class the other morning we were talking about moments we have when we study, times when all of a sudden everything makes sense, or something new strikes us that we never thought about before. Sometimes I call them epiphanies, but more often I say I had a “light bulb moment.” You would think that the older you get, the fewer of those moments you have because you know more, right? Light bulb moments have nothing to do with how much you know. While it is true that you won’t have them if you do not learn, it is also true that you won’t have them if all you do is cram facts into your head. Light bulb moments come because you have thought about what you know. You have, as my grandmother used to say “studied on it”—by that she meant, turned it over and over, and come at it from all directions.
If I have been a Christian for ten, twenty, thirty years and have experienced none of these moments, then maybe I need to examine my acquaintance with the scriptures. If all I can do is recite pet phrases and scriptures, then God’s word is not living in my life as it should. In fact, it has nothing to do with my everyday life at all—maybe I just use it to prove some doctrine wrong. I don’t think that is what God had in mind.
These light bulb moments should go off in my mind because I use the scriptures often, think about them often, and live by them every day. Paul and John both call the scriptures “the Word of Life,” Phil 2:16; 1 John 1:1, but they won’t give me life if I don’t use them regularly. If I don’t have any light bulb moments, I am living in the dark, no matter how many scriptures I can recite or how often I “go to church.”
Luke 24:16 tells us of two men whose “eyes were holden that they should not know him.” Jesus had a reason for that, but when the time was right “their eyes were opened,” v 31. Later on as he spoke to the disciples, “opened he their minds that they might understand the scriptures,” v 45. After approximately three years of teaching, he expected them to start having “light bulb moments,” and they did. As accustomed as he was to using everyday things in his teaching, if they had had light bulbs in their homes, I bet he would have used that very phrase. Now it’s our turn to have them.
[I] cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory may give unto you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your heart enlightened that you may know what is the hope of this calling, the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and the exceeding greatness of his power to us who believe... Eph 1:16-19
Dene Ward
For hints, help, and instructions on using this blog, click on the FAQ/Tutorial page on the left sidebar
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