I really liked Biology at school, not something I have in common with wife, who informs me that she was always more gifted in the creative subjects like Art and Music. Yet, in truth Biological science is nothing more than an in depth study of the great creativity of our Creator. Take photosynthesis for example. I look outside at all those beautiful green plants, growing healthily in my garden, the green grass growing just a bit too healthily on my lawn and the five trees in our front garden that only a few weeks ago were completely bare and now provide enough shade beneath, for the two Jack Russels that have taken up semi permanent residence on our lawn. I also think about the shrubs from which Whitie, our spoilt and ever enlarging cat emerges, when he hears the car arrive or sees a light being switched on in the early morning. And I know that inside each of those plants, a wonderful series of chemical processes will be happening that will ensure that growth is ongoing throughout the day and night. Of course with the help of scientists, my teachers and a few Biology textbooks, I have come to understand how the leaves of a plant are the little chemical factories, taking in carbon dioxide that we might even have breathed out and using the water that has been drawn up through their roots and probably fell out of a cloud some time previously, to make sugars that can be passed around to all the other parts of the plant, helping them to survive and grow, including the fruit above the soil and the vegetables underground. But what was the key factor? The light of course, for without the light, the process would flounder. That's why it's called photosynthesis of course - using light to make something.
But another photo gripped my interest and imagination as a pupil and later as a teacher and that was phototropism. I had probably seen it hundreds of times but never recognised it for what it was. You know you leave a plant on the kitchen window sill and before long it's bending towards the window or you plant a whole lot of little seedlings and after a while the whole tray have taken on a mind of their own and are all listing in one direction. We used to do lots of little experiments at school about this and the predictions were always devastatingly accurate because without fail, if you placed a plant and shone a light from one side, without exception, after a few days you could see the bend in the stem, in the direction of the light. But what was the key factor? The light of course, for without the light it just wouldn't happen. That's why it's called phototropism of course - the bending of the plant towards the light.
A third photo word I remember from those halcyon days was photoperiodism. I never really though about what makes plants flower apart from the fact that it was probably something to do with the warmth of the season but I would never have guessed that it could be affected by the amount of daylight that a plant received, or more correctly the length of night. And while some plants are dependent on temperature there are two other distinct categories of flowering plants, the long day plants that need a short night time of darkness and thus are going to flower in late spring and summer and the short day plants that will only flower in the autumn and winter because they need a long night. And it's not just restricted to plants with some animals showing physiological behavioural changes just because of the change in the amount of light in a season. How incredible is that. And what is the key factor? The light of course. That's why it's called photoperiodsim - the reaction of organisms to changes in the length of daylight.
So if Jesus is the 'Light of the World', what change does He cause in you or in me. Do we feed on His goodness and His promises? Are we growing by taking in the spiritual nourishment He provides? Or is something shading out the light so that while we believe and are saved, we actually never develop and grow into what He wants us to be?
Are we attracted to His light, bending away from those things that might hold us back and looking to get closer to Him? Do we always seek out His light even when darkness appears to be all around?
But sometimes, you know, it takes the dark experiences, the troublesome days, the moments of despair to make us really appreciate the light and to start to bloom for Jesus. What is your reaction when things go wrong, not according to plan, when life sets you back, when tragedy occurs. I don't know why God allows some things to happen in our lives at particular times but I do know that His light is always there. And the encouraging thing is that He says, ' I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'
