2 Peter 1:12-21: a reflection

12Therefore I will not be negligent to remind you of these things, though you know them and are established in the present truth. 13I think it right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you, 14knowing that the putting off of my tent comes swiftly, even as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. 15Yes, I will make every effort that you may always be able to remember these things even after my departure. 16For we didn’t follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17For he received from God the Father honor and glory when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” 18We heard this voice come out of heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain. 19We have the more sure word of prophecy; and you do well that you heed it as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts, 20knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of private interpretation. 21For no prophecy ever came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke, being moved by the Holy Spirit.

Peter, writing near the end of his life, wants to fix his readers' attention on the reliability of the message they have believed, which rests on eyewitness testimony and the prophetic word. And he gives a memorable image for the Scriptures: You will do well to pay attention to the prophetic word as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. God's word, he says, is a lamp for the dark, until the full light of Christ's day arrives.

Notice the picture. We live, for now, in a dark place, a world where much is uncertain, confusing, hard to see clearly. And into that darkness, God has given his word as a lamp, a light to see by, to guide our steps through the dark stretch until the day fully dawns. The lamp does not banish all the darkness at once; it gives enough light to walk by until the morning comes. God's word is that lamp for us, light for the present darkness.

That image shapes how we value and use Scripture. We are not yet in the full light of day; we walk through a dark place, and we need light to see by. God's word is the lamp he has given, and Peter urges us to pay attention to it, to keep it lit and near, to walk by its light through the darkness until Christ's day dawns fully. When the world around you is dark and confusing, and the way is hard to see, do what Peter says: attend to God's word as a lamp shining in a dark place. Walk by its light, and trust that the day is coming when the morning star will rise and the darkness will be past.

Lord, Peter calls your word a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises. Thank you that in this dark and often confusing world, you have given your word as a light to walk by. When the way is hard to see and the world around me is dark, help me attend to your word, to keep it lit and near, to walk by its light. And keep me looking toward the day that is coming, when the full light of Christ will dawn and the darkness will be past. Be my lamp until then.