On this day in 1879, Thomas Edison invented the lightbulb.

You may remember back in January we highlighted the patenting of the lightbulb. So why talk about this again? Let’s shed a little light on the topic.

Imagine life without lightbulbs. Consider how many you use every day. Start in your room and think about all the lights in your house. At school, you’ll find lots—in hallways, classrooms, locker room, gymnasium, cafeteria. Don’t forget those in your school bus and cars. And what about streetlights, traffic lights, and warning lights? Oh yeah, you also have flashlights, reading lights, spotlights, strobe lights, lasers, neons, blacklights, LCDs, refrigerator lights, clock lights . . . you probably can think of even more.

Without lights your world would be dark, especially at night. You could use candles, kerosene, or torches, of course, but that would be very inconvenient. So, thanks again, Thomas Edison.

But also remember: having lights is not enough; you need to use them.

Makes sense, right? Otherwise, you’d spend a lot of time in the dark—getting lost, bumping into things, and losing stuff.

Jesus said, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12; 9:5). He said his followers should be light to a dark world (Matthew 5:14-16). Today’s verse tells us to “walk in the light.” This means following close to Christ and obeying him.

Look closely at the world and you’ll find darkness—millions of lost people searching for the way. Their light has come, but they keep struggling in the dark. Would you rather stumble in darkness? Hit the switch and then walk in the light.

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin (1 John 1:7, New International Version).

To Do

For the next hour or two, say a short prayer every time you see a lightbulb. If the light is turned on, thank God for his light and ask for his guidance. If the light is off, thank God for his light and confess those times when you’ve “walked in darkness.”

Also on this day

This is National Reptile Day.

1956—Actress Carrie Fisher was born. She played the part of Princess Leia in the Star Wars films.

1858—The Cancan dance was performed for the first time in Paris, France.

From Betsy Schmitt and Dave Veerman, 365 Trivia Twist Devotions: An Almanac of Fun Facts and Spiritual Truth for Every Day of the Year (Cincinnati: Standard, 2005). Scripture quotations are from the New Living Translation unless otherwise noted.