The Source of All Light and Truth

I have been thinking a great deal about light this week. I'm sure many of you have heard the story about the professor and the student. A Philosophy professor at Princeton university got up and told his class "I just wanted to let you all know before we start, that I do not believe in God. Anyone who believes in God is a fool, and we will not be discussing anything religious in this class, are we clear?" A return missionary, who was in the class, stood up and basically bore his testimony to the professor. He told him that he knew there was a God and that He loved every one of us. The professor sneered and said "God loves us does He? Let me ask you this, where does everything come from?" The student answered: "From God." Professor: "Where did evil come from?" Student: "From... God." Professor: "Ah. So all of the evil things in this world, whether it be terrorist attacks, the Holocaust, kidnappings, murder and rape, all came from God. How can you possibly say that God is good and that He loves us when He made all these horribly evil things? If there is a God, He must be evil, for all evil comes from Him." The student felt ashamed and had no response, so he sat down.

Then, a second student (Also a return missionary) stood up and asked" "Professor, may I ask you a question?" Professor: "Ah. Another believer. Yes, if you must." Student: "Is there such a thing as heat?" Professor: "Yes." Student: "Is there such a thing as cold?" Professor: "Yes of course there is." Student: "Actually, you're wrong professor. There is no such thing as cold. You can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat. But we don't have anything called cold. We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold. Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it."

The student then asks further: "What about darkness Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness?" Professor: "Yes. What is night if not darkness?" Student: "You're wrong again professor. Darkness is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light....But if you have no light constantly, you have nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it? In reality, darkness isn't. If it were you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?"

Professor: "Alright then, what's your point?" Student: "Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed." Professor: "Flawed? How so?" Student: "You say that evil came from God, but in reality, evil is just a word we use to describe the absence of good, or the absence of God in someone's life. God didn't create evil, He created good. When we choose to turn away from Him, and to stop following the path He wants us to take, we start losing light in our lives, and all that is left is darkness, just as if you dimmed the lights in this room. Evil is not the opposite of good, merely the absence of it."

My point with this story is to illustrate the importance of the light of the gospel in our lives. When we choose to turn away from the teachings of Jesus Christ, meaning loving one another, serving each other, etc. we allow darkness into our lives. When we come closer to Christ, however, we gain more light in our lives, and things become even more clear and wonderfully bright. Christ Himself said: "I am the light and the life of the world." That is completely true. Christ is the source of all light, or truth. Draw near to Him, and He will give you light to find your way through the darkness of earth life. Move away from Him, and all that will be left is darkness. I know that Christ lives, and He will give us the light we need if we but come unto Him. Love you!