A Source of Heat and Light

Imagine our world before the invention of electricity. The best source of heat and light would have come with the rising of the sun. Is it any wonder that people would go to bed with the chickens and get up with the roosters?

I lived in the Southwest desert for over fifteen years, and though I lived in an air-conditioned house and drove an air-conditioned car, they were only temporary escapes. Nothing could eliminate the outdoor heat, but I learned to be thankful for anything that could give me a shadow or some shade.

The Creator of the Universe made two great lights. *Genesis 1:14-18 (NLT) says the larger light was to govern the day and the smaller was to govern the night. The word “govern” denotes a certain power. While mankind has learned to harness the sun’s power, no one has yet eliminated its light or its heat.

As hot and dry as the desert gets, or even as humid as summer gets in other places, I don’t think anyone would vote to eliminate the sun or the moon.

According to *Genesis 1:14, they are signs to mark the seasons, days, and years. They do their assigned jobs so well that Robert B. Thomas, a schoolteacher and bookseller in 1792, created a yearly bestseller called **The Farmer’s Almanac.  

It’s fun to read David’s description of the sun: Psalm 19:4b-6:

 God has made a home in the heavens for the sun.

It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding.

It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race.

The sun rises at one end of the heavens and follows its course to the other end.

Nothing can hide from its heat.

We can temporarily evade the sun’s heat with our A/C, shade trees, covered porches, and beach umbrellas, but we can never permanently hide from it. That’s good since the sun causes seeds to grow, develops healthy Vitamin D, and helps people avoid SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) from lack of sunlight.

Whatever time of day you wake up and see the sun, be personally thankful. Remember *Psalm 113:3: Everywhere---from east to west---praise the name of the LORD.

*All scripture quotations are NLT, taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by Permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

**The History of the Almanac: Editors; Old Farmer’s Almanac, https://www.almanac.com.history

Pixabay Photo: Sunrise, Desert Landscape, Public Domain