Neil Gaiman, an English writer once remarked: “I took the dog out for a walk tonight, and together we wandered across the meadow next door. It was a warm summer's night, dark, and moonless. There were a handful of fireflies flickering intermittently, some so close to me I could see they were burning green as they flew, and some further away, who seemed to be flashing white.
And in the sky above them a continual roil of distant summer lightning (the storm distant enough that it was silent) burned and flashed and illuminated the clouds. It seemed as if the lightning bugs were talking to the lightning, in a perfect call and response of flash and counterflash. I watched the sky and the meadow flash and flash while the dog walked ahead of me, and realized that I was perfectly happy...” 2 Timothy 1:9 reminds us: “Who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began.”
A firefly is principally defined as any of numerous night-flying beetles that produce a bright soft flashing light for courtship purposes. It is an insect that is primarily active during the hours of darkness or twilight and whose tail emits light. All of God’s creatures represent life in one form or another and fireflies are no exception. Wikipedia states that they have attracted human attention since “Classical Antiquity,” their presence has been taken to signify a wide variety of conditions in different cultures and is especially appreciated aesthetically in Japan, where parks are set aside for this specific purpose.
Just as a firefly is active for another, light, at its derivation, is also an attractive and welcoming salutation during nocturnal dimness. Whether the light is constant and shines brightly, or intermittent with only a soft glimmer, its effect, for many, provides an element of assurance and hope. It has been said that fireflies are a symbol, and glow where there is true love. They are deemed to represent attraction, positivity, and self-awareness.
Love is an emotion of bodily reactions that combine to stimulate certain senses which may perpetrate fondness, kindness and happiness. It is a specific and definitive unity and bond between two individuals that create a distinct attraction and appreciation of each other’s company and often emulate a meaningful and purposeful life. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 reminds us: “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.”
Agape is considered of even stronger structure and power. It identifies and resembles the love of God which is available to all who accept Him. It remains predominant in all conditions, and of the highest value that transcends and persists, regardless of circumstances or conditions. 1 John 4:7 reminds us: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.”
True love can include loyalty or a willingness to undertake the requested tasks of another. John 21:15-17 reminds us: “When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.”
Fireflies aren’t just dormant insects without purpose, they are extremely active and contribute significantly to the pollination of plants. They help flowering plants propagate by consuming nectar and pollen. They habitat most frequently in meadows, forest edges, marshlands, and areas of plentiful leaf litter and rotting wood.
We all need hope, guidance and illumination in life. Fireflies have been said to represent an element of God’s light in the darkness. Their flickering glow portrays the aspiration that even in darkness, light still shines. With light, one has the ability to overcome the darkness of evil, it overshadows temptation, it calms fear, it enlightens a way forward, it allows one to see more clearly. Martin Luther King Jr; an American minister of religion and activist once remarked: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” John 8:12 reminds us: Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
God is love, 1 John 4:7-21 reminds us: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.
And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot[a] love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
God is light. He made the universe and every living creature within it. He balanced the former darkness with light. Genesis 1:1-5 confirms: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.”
That first day, so many centuries ago, has now accumulated into many millions of days filled with love and hope. Fireflies continue to fly, they continue to emit light, it is their sole way of communicating. It is one of their primary purposes in life. But what is a life without purpose? Perhaps no more functional than barren soil. We all have a responsibility to share God’s light and hope with others. Matthew 5:14-16 reminds us: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
Amen.
