In his book, Disappointment with God, Philip Yancey relayed that once, as an experiment, the great scientist Isaac Newton stared at the image of the sun reflected in a mirror. The brightness burned into his retina, and he suffered temporary blindness. Even after he hid for three days behind closed shutters, still the bright spot would not fade from his vision.
“I used all means to divert my imagination from the sun,” he writes, “But if I thought upon him, I presently saw his picture though I was in the dark.”
If he had stared a few minutes longer, Newton might have permanently lost all vision. The chemical receptors that govern eyesight cannot withstand the full force of unfiltered sunlight.*
Recently during a recent solar eclipse, observers were warned to be sure to wear the proper eyewear to view the eclipse. Looking directly at the sun causes irreparable damage. An eye doctor explains why one should never look directly at the sun by giving this analogy:
“Think of a magnifying glass that a child might use to burn holes in a piece paper. When the rays of the sun focus on one single point, they create a lot of energy. The eye’s lens is about four times as powerful as that of a typical magnifying glass. When you take a lens that is that powerful and point it directly at the sun, it creates energy strong enough to literally burn a hole in the retina.”**
Consider God in terms of the bright light of the sun. The Apostle Paul extolls the greatness of God: “He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, Who alone has immortality, Who dwells in unapproachable light, Whom no one has ever seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen” (1 Timothy 6:15-16 ESV). Perhaps Paul was reflecting upon his experience when he (called Saul at that time) was going to Damascus to find and persecute Christians. “Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him” (Acts 9:3). Saul fell to the ground as He was confronted by the risen Christ. When he arose, he opened his eyes but could see nothing; he was blind. Was it because he had seen the Son in the glory of His unapproachable light? Yet Saul in his blindness “saw” some things for the first time: he “saw” Jesus for who He was – the Messiah, the Son of God. He also “saw” his sin and his dire need for salvation.
Saul learned the Good News: God, who dwells in unapproachable light, approached us through His Son Jesus. He sent Jesus to die for our sins on the cross so that we can be forgiven and dwell with Him (John 3:16). Our holy God is also a God of love. Even though we – like Saul – have offended the holiness of God with our sins, He loves us so much that He has made provision through His Son to be reconciled to Him (Ephesians 1:7).
God will cleanse from sin and give eternal life to those who place their faith and trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from sin in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Him before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38). He will continue to cleanse from sin those who continue to walk in the light of His Word (1 John 1:7-9). Consider the glory of God and His Son Jesus. The glory of God will cause us to become painfully aware of our sinfulness, but it should also draw us to Him because of the greatness of His redeeming love.
— David A. Sargent
* As quoted in www.sermonillustrations.com. ** Gleaned from “From An Eye Doctor: Why You Should Never Stare Directly at the Sun” as shared in www.brighteyesny.com.