The Color’s In The Light

Blank on what to write for this week’s blog, I was staring out my study’s window at the bird feeder hung just outside, when a male cardinal landed on its perch. Involuntarily, I found my mind remarking on the brilliance of his color, “There is no red like that red.” The compulsion of that thought caused me to reflect how I often hear people exclaim about the brilliant red of a male cardinal. With wonder and excitement adults who have seen multiplied hundreds of male cardinals in their lives will find themselves pointing and saying, “Oh, look at that cardinal. It’s so beautiful.” Poor female. It’s the male they are pointing at each time. The male’s the one with all the color—red. The cardinal’s red is God’s red. God put that pigment in his feathers. There are other God colors besides red that are marvelous: The effulgent, pure white of newly fallen snow. There is no white like that. The deep blue of a sky freshly washed of humidity. And, have you ever seen all three together? A red cardinal perched on the white of a newly fallen snow met at the horizon with a deep blue sky? Yes, humans also color things they make—everything from houses to vehicles to clothes to shoes, etc. And, yes, people comment on the color of the things human-made. But, comments about the colors of human-created and pigmented things, even when favorable, are much more muted: “Look, that’s a nice color.” “I like that color.” “That’s a pretty color.” It’s the God-painted things that get the “WOW!!!” Though it happens, it is rare to hear of man-made things, “What a wonderful red,” “What a beautiful white,” “What an unbelievable blue,” as is heard of cardinals, new snow, and a cloudless sky. Many times, the comments are less than complimentary: “That color doesn’t match.” “That’s an ugly color.” “That color is too bright.” “That color is gaudy.” “Yuck!” People have often opined, “That’s an ugly car.” “That’s an ugly house.” That’s an ugly shirt.” All based on color. I don’t think I have ever heard, “What an ugly cardinal,” What an ugly new snow,” “What an ugly cloudless, sky.” Construction vests are orange. I have never seen a photo of a construction vest posted on FB with the caption, “What an unbelievably, beautiful orange.” I have seen many photos of sunrises and sunsets with captions lauding their beautiful orange. The simple conclusion is that the colors we marvel at with overwhelmed wonder are colors of things that God “painted.” The sometimes nice but often so-so colors and the non-appealing colors are of things man “painted.” However, we know it’s a bit more complicated than that. Color isn’t an essence of an object. The color isn’t in the substance of a thing. The color is in the light. Different substances reflect different wavelengths of light and absorb others. The wavelengths of light that are reflected by an object are thus separated from the others allowing us to see a particular color. Thus, color is all in the light. We see a color when a particular substance reflects a particular wavelength. As Creator, God created the substances that reflect the most beautiful wavelengths, the most beautiful colors. I know that explanation is over simplistic. Yet, God creates the real beauty in this world. There is no beauty of mind, heart, and life like the beauty of a heart God has changed, a heart reflecting His light, the light of love, forgiveness, joy, peace, and holiness. The Apostle Peter gets personal: He tells women that there is a beauty that far surpasses any accentuation or ornamentation of the outward body. He says the greatest beauty is the beauty of God reflecting off the inner person that He has changed and transformed. What color! What beauty! The redeemed soul. The washed heart. The transformed life. The pure mind. After all, the color is in the Light.

The Color’s In The Light

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