In photography, the most important element of any image is light. The amount of light a photographer permits to pass through a camera lens determines what is revealed in an image. Very selectively, a photographer adjusts the aperture of a lens to control the amount of light that is allowed to pass through. If a camera lens is completely open in bright light, the exposure would be completely white, or ‘invisible’. It is the contrast of shadow and light that produces the image. In order to expose an image, there must be shadow, or areas of the composition that absorb light. This contrast of light and shadow exposes even the most intricate detail of an image.
So it is with my life. God promises (in Psalm 199:105) to be “a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (ESV). He doesn’t promise to be a mega-amped spotlight. He promises to be a lamp light. So instead of the harsh over-exposure of a high-powered beam, God offers the soft focus of a flickering flame. He reveals detail in the shadow as well as in the light. As I walk in the “shadow of his hand” (Isaiah 49:2), I am reminded that life is most beautiful and most revealing when I take the time to appreciate its contrasts.
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