Only Then

Amazed at the thought, I studied the passage again. “The light was shining in darkness; ‘but the darkness apprehended it not.’ John 1:5” This darkness was certainly not reflecting the light that it received. The words of a humble peasant boy had moved them more than they had ever been moved by human lips. Yet they apprehended it not. 

Reflection, according to my dictionary, means the throwing back by a body or surface of light... without absorbing it. While the priests and rulers in the temple considered themselves to be the expositors of truth, they had some similarity to a black hole. As the light of Jesus’ words shown upon their darkened minds, they apprehended it not. No more could they reflect the light they had received, than could a bottomless pit. 

“But Jesus in the temple had been taught by God. That which He had received, He began at once to impart.” -{DA 78.3} Reflection...throwing back of light without absorbing it. Imparting...to continue receiving. Give and it shall be given unto you. Is it any accident that we are enjoined to give first? We have been given exceedingly abundantly above our comprehension, already. Were we to wait until we felt we had something to share, we might never rise to the task. Or, if we felt that we ourselves had something to give, it would be likely proof that we did not. 

Taught of God, at the age of twelve, the Sun of Righteousness was shining truth onto the pathways of those around Him. Can we do same? Only as we reflect His light. Only then.