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Then 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.” ~ John 8:12

I appreciate this passage in John 8:12 as it identifies Jesus with light, so when we are in Christ, we see the world in a new light, and with eyes wide open to the truth.

 I have always understood this verse in view of the creation passage in Genesis 1:1-3, where the Word is the source of life as well as the source and Creator of light. In 1 John 1:5, it says, “God is Light.”

The other passage that gave me an understanding of Jesus’ claim to give the “light of life” is Revelation 21:23 — The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.

However, now this passage in John 8:12 has new meaning to me, as I saw it in a new light after reading a medical science article about what happens at conception. The article I read was on a website called ScienceAlert.com titled “Scientists Just Captured the Flash of Light When a Sperm Meets an Egg.”

This headline immediately brought to my memory John 8:12, and I read on to learn more about this marvel that intrigued me and piqued my curiosity.

The article went on to say that research scientists from Northwestern University made the amazing discovery. The report notes:

“For the first time ever, scientists have captured images of the flash of light that sparks at the very moment a human sperm cell makes contact with an egg.”

Of course, this is a journalistic perspective, simply reporting on the facts as they are observed. But when I read the article, it occurred to me that God is giving us an object lesson about when life begins, and how He is involved in a person’s life right from conception.

My curiosity was also aroused to ask the question, ‘Is this the time that the soul of the person enters them so that they are a complete person, not simply a zygote that is just a blob or bunch of cells?’

If this is true, then I believe that believers should stand with far greater strength and courage against abortion at any stage of pregnancy.

Light and Life

I was also curious about the many times the Bible associates ‘life’ with ‘light’. Passages such as John 1:4 — In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. Or Psalm 56:13b — that I may walk before God in the light of life. Or the prophecy about the Messiah in Isaiah 53:11 — After He has suffered, He will see the light of life.

Many other passages correspond with this truth. Perhaps there is more to the ’light of life’ than I had ever given credit to.

Jesus is the ‘Light of Life’. Could this truth also be seen and expressed by the fact that a burst of light occurs the instant a new life is formed?

Of course, the scientists look at the chemical cause for the burst of light, so this is their description:

“Using a new fluorescent sensor that’s able to track the movements of zinc in live cells, the team caught a glimpse of an egg’s zinc-storage capabilities, and found some 8,000 zinc compartments, each one containing around 1 million zinc atoms, just ripe for exploding. The tiny ‘fireworks’ that result was found to last for about 2 hours after fertilisation.”

Even these hardened “cause and effect” scientists were moved by what they observed. One lady scientist had this comment:

“It was remarkable. We discovered the zinc spark just five years ago in the mouse, and to see the zinc radiate out in a burst from each human egg was breathtaking.”

God has certainly given us an astounding number of amazing and wonderful indicators that point very clearly to the fact that He is the Creator who works in ways that are far above our imagination. The Psalms glorify the Creator God.

Psalm 19:1 says: The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.
And Psalm 139:13-14 — For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful. I know that full well.

Our Creator has made so much that is yet to be discovered, which will, no doubt, astound, amaze, fascinate and blow the minds of those who have the opportunity to discover them.

There are many more “breathtaking” things to discover, but this matter of a new embryo giving off a burst of light, then glowing for the first few hours of its life, is a marvel that speaks of God’s amazing and wonderfully intricate care and attention to detail. His Word is true; He is the LIGHT OF LIFE.

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Image: Northwestern University