For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:6)

When our eldest son was a child, he came up with his own way of telling Bible stories. One that especially stands out was about the creation story. Once when Marti was going over it with him and came to the day God said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” Christopher interrupted her and said, “I know this part! ‘And God said, “Will somebody please turn on the lights!”’”

Who knows? It could have been something like that. The point is, prior to God creating light it was all darkness, or as Genesis says, “Darkness covered the deep waters.” So when God spoke light out of the darkness, it was a miracle. It was God’s word becoming real. It was God speaking light into existence where it formerly was only darkness.

This, of course, is the point of verse 6. Just as God spoke light into the beginning of creation, so He speaks light into our hearts where there once was only darkness. It’s the miracle of rebirth.

What this tells us is that the new covenant is rooted in something that is impossible. Light can’t come out of darkness without a miracle. One more reason that everything comes from God and nothing from us. We can no more accomplish anything for the kingdom of God on our own than we can make light shine out of the darkness. It just shows our total dependence on God to do His will.

The good news here also is that those mentioned in the earlier verses of this chapter who have been blinded by Satan in their unbelief are not beyond hope. God can speak into their darkness just as He has done into ours, and just like He did in the creation of the world. Somebody turned on the lights for you and for me, and He can do it for anyone. If you know someone who is blinded, don’t stop praying! I watched the light come on in someone’s life who had been a hardened atheist for 43 years. Anything is possible with God.