Beyond the Fireworks: The Light That Cannot Be Hidden

My day typically starts in the shower. I wake up and I usually go right to the shower because it helps me wake up, then after getting dressed comes coffee and time spent in God’s word. Being on vacation and visiting my parents, my schedule shifted a bit and my shower came later than usual. I don’t know about you, but I tend to do some of my best thinking in the shower. I don’t really know why that is, but I have met several people that are this way too, and this holiday morning was no different. As I showered, I reflected on this holiday where we celebrate the day our nation declared independence from an oppressive king. 

Looking in the news and various social media sources, it is not hard to feel like we once again have fallen into an oppressive society, but it isn’t an oppressive monarch. Despite what many would say, it isn’t an oppressive government either. Rather, what I see is the oppression from the darkness that resides in this world. Darkness that is commanded by the “little g” god of this world, the enemy of Elohim and all He has created, including you and me. 

You see, our nation’s forefathers carefully planned to break free from the king’s oppressive control and unite the colonies. They carried out that plan through bold declarations, strategic alliances, and a costly war to win their freedom. Similarly, Jehovah-Goel saw the darkness His creation would fall into and drafted a plan that would break the chains of sin’s death penalty. By our standard, it was a bold plan that would cost the life of His son, but by His standard it was the necessary choice. We are so blessed to live in a country that allows us to have the freedom that we have to accept or reject the plan that God offers to us. 

In addition to this similarity, I was also thinking about how we celebrate this holiday. It is full of feasting, community, and fireworks. We gather with friends, family, neighbors, and other folks in our lives and grill up food to share while we wait for night to fall, and that is when the real fun begins. The skies become bright with explosions, rockets, and explosives of all kinds. Some go high in the sky, while others stay on the ground. Some have multiple stages providing multiple opportunities for “ooooos” and “aaaahhhs”, and others are here in an instant and gone in a flash. Regardless of how long they last and how high they go, these fireworks have come to annually redeclare our independence. 

I started to think about how fireworks and our celebrations could be representative of a life of faith. As I began to think it over, I struggled to reconcile the thought. I was caught up by the short lifespan of a firework. See, in Matthew chapter 5, verse 14, Jesus tells us, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.” This kind of light is an enduring light, not one that it is short lived, but one that burns for eternity. Then I started thinking about how these two light sources impact the darkness that they are contrasted against.

See, once the sun goes down, or rather, darkness sets in, the existence of the light becomes evident regardless of its ability to continue producing light. The fireworks inability to endure are like the distractions of the aforementioned enemy. Fireworks, through their bright lights, loud sounds, and awe drawing sights, grab our attention. They distract us from all that is around us and trigger a dopamine release that encourages us to anxiously seek out the next blast, but they have no ability to continue providing light because their source is only capable of a flash. On the other hand, the enduring light of Jehovah ‘Ori remains burning for eternity as a source of hope in the darkness because its source is from God Himself. Rather than serving as a distraction, this light is a beacon in the darkness, calling us home to peace that transcends understanding. 

When I first started thinking about the 4th, the fireworks, and my faith, I wanted to tell my boys how the fireworks serve as a symbol of hope in the darkness, but like the enduring love of a father, our symbol of hope is found in the steady burning light that is like a city on top of a hill. Far less exciting in the everyday moments, but always there in the darkness right where we need it. When we wander into the darkness, we can seek the exciting distraction of the dopamine-inducing fireworks, or we can turn back and find the steady light that stays burning for all to see.

So this 4th of July, my prayer is that you would have community around you to celebrate and feast with, whether in person or in spirit. I encourage everyone to celebrate this country and the opportunities that we are offered here, for we truly have reason to celebrate. We live in a magnificent land of opportunity, and while you celebrate, I pray that while you oooo and aaaaaah at the incredible displays around the country, you have the enduring light of God as a guidepost in your life, and if you don’t, I pray that you would come to know Him, for He is the source of all that is good in this world. 

God Almighty, creator of the heavens and the earth, appointer of all authorities, thank you for this day that we have to celebrate this great nation that you have established. Thank you for the opportunity to have the freedom that we have by living in this place to not only celebrate, but worship you, our creator while we are at it. Father, allow us to enjoy the spectacle of the evening but let us not lose sight of your enduring light that burns for eternity for you are our source of hope, joy, peace, love, and all that is good in this world. I thank you for all that you have done and are continuing to do. Be with each of us as we celebrate tonight!