The Brightest Light in the World

At the southern end of the Las Vegas Strip there is pyramid shaped casino called the Luxor Hotel. High atop this striking structure, where the four points of the black-glassed pyramid converge, there is a tower. Inside that tower, at the very pinnacle of the building, there is an intense light that points straight up. Nightly, when the hot Nevada desert sun sets, this shaft of light is turned on. The Luxor Sky Beam boasts that it is the “brightest light in the world” at 42.3 billion candela. That term, candela, is the equivalent measure of light produced by one candle. Which means, this beam emits the amount of light equal to 42.3 billion candles! That’s nearly impossible to imagine. Just to try and put in perspective how strong this light stream is when at full strength; the light from a modern lighthouse puts out about 1 million candela. The Luxor Sky beam then would be comparable to the light produced by 42,300 lighthouses! It is said this stream of light is so powerful, that on a clear night commercial air traffic can see the beam from 275 miles away. Local residents report when fully illuminated, the glow is bright enough, that even in the dead of night, they can sit outside and read their newspaper though they live miles from the casino. Due to the high cost of operating this radiant light, hotel management normally leaves the beam at half power.

Obviously, the owners of the casino intended for this brilliant beam to not only be dazzling and impressive, but also to draw guests and gamblers. One unintended (and unwanted) side effect is the number of nocturnal creatures the light attracts. Every night, millions of moths, and other flying insects, are drawn to the light. Which in turn draws thousands of bats, who find a Las Vegas style buffet of bugs circling the stream of light. Another added nuisance is the large number of owls, which feed on the bats, which also encircle the Luxor Hotel. It is visitors with plenty of money to spend, that hotel designers thought to attract by building the light, rather than an ecological community of nighttime creepy-crawlies.

Nonetheless, as intended, each year, tens of thousands of would-be millionaires gamble away their hard-earned finances inside the Luxor Casino and Hotel. Whether drawn by the Sky Beam, Blackjack, or the hopes of winning it big at the slots, scores of people visit this attraction and walk away empty-handed. After all, huge business conglomerations and corporations don’t build billion-dollar casinos and hotels because they lose money.

I make mention of the “brightest light in the world” for this reason: even with its intense brightness and super-powered bulbs, the Luxor Sky Beam pales in comparison to the matchless brilliance of the Lord Jesus Christ. No offense to the folks at the Luxor Hotel, but the brightest light to ever break through the darkness on planet Earth wasn’t crafted by men or affixed to a building in Vegas, but sent down from Heaven by God. Nothing and no one equal the exquisite eternal brightness of the Person of Jesus Christ. All other sources of light pale in comparison to His brilliant Glory and Radiance! His brilliance extends beyond worlds, space and time. No means of measure created by men has ever been invented to quantify His shining intensity. The incandescence of Christ exceeds that of the universe’s brightest star. Even the Sun itself, is a dim flickering candle when compared to the Son. The radiance and resplendence of God’s only Begotten Son transcend mortal tongue.

Perhaps you ask how I can make such claims? My answer … as a Christian, I view life through the lens of eternity and Scripture. Because of this, I submit the reason Jesus outshines everything and everyone is that He is the Only One who can dispel spiritual darkness and deliver spiritual life. John 8:12 reads, “Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.’” The unspoken (but clearly implied) truth here is that because of sin, all humanity dwell in the deep darkness of depravity, without spiritual life. We can definitively state that Jesus is the True Light of the World, because He brings life-giving light. Sunlight, flashlights or even headlights can dispel natural darkness. Only Christ can dispel spiritual darkness. A lighthouse can direct ships to safe harbor, but only Jesus can deliver the soul from spiritual death. A lamp may provide light for you to see or read by, but only Jesus can give you spiritual sight. Think on this, Jesus is Light, and He gives soul-saving, life-giving light. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to illuminate the dead, depraved heart of God’s elect, granting them the spiritual gifts of repentance towards God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Has this happened to you? Or are you still dwelling in darkness?

An individual placing all their confidence, assurance and hope in Christ’s virgin birth, sinless life, substitutionary death and glorious resurrection is the only means whereby spiritually dead sinners can have everlasting life. Not one single sin-blinded sinner has ever fled to the true Light of the World and walked away empty-handed. Instead as the Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 1:10, the Savior Christ Jesus, has “abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”

Think about it like this, every living creature on the planet is dependent on the light of the sun. If the sun ever stopped shining, all life on Earth would eventually die. In like manner, whether men realize it or not, every human is dependent on the light of the Son to give spiritual life. Without the atoning work of Christ, humanity would be relegated to the outer darkness of an eternity separated from the Glorious Brilliance of the One True God. I mean no disrespect to the great minds that designed, built and maintain the Luxor Sky Beam, it is no doubt a sight to behold. Yet, at some point it’s brightness fades. The brilliant beauty of Christ does not.

Maybe some of my readers have been to Vegas and seen the Luxor Sky Beam; more importantly, have you been to Christ? He is the brightest light in this world, and in the world to come. I close today with the opening line and refrain of the old gospel Hymn, “The Light of the World is Jesus.”

The whole world was lost in the darkness of sin,

The Light of the world is Jesus!

Like sunshine at noonday, His glory shone in;

The Light of the world is Jesus!

Come to the light, ’tis shining for thee;

Sweetly the light has dawned upon me;

Once I was blind, but now I can see:

The Light of the world is Jesus!

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