Doerr writes brilliantly and tells an amazing masterfully tale, whose goal is to illuminate the ways, against all odds, people try to do the right thing, and try to be good to one another. Highly recommended. I’m fairly sure that there is no overt Christian theology in this novel, but one of the things that intrigued me right away was the title.
Christianity believes very strongly in the assertion that our world is bathed in light we often do not see. Jesus is the light of the world. The earth is filled with the Glory of God on the most dreary of days. Just because we can’t see it, recognize it or even believe it, doesn’t mean that it isn’t there or doesn’t exist.
Scripture is replete with references to God’s eternal light; for instance,
“If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will cover me, and the light around me turn to night,’ “darkness is not dark to you, O Lord; the night is as bright as the day; darkness and light to you are both alike.” Psalm 129:10-11
There are wonderful prayers from our wonderful Book of Common Prayer that speak of the subject; many of these come from the service of Evening Prayer:
“Almighty God, we give you thanks for surrounding us, as daylight fades, with the brightness of the vesper light; and we implore you of your great mercy, as you enfold us with the radiance of this light, so you would shine into our hearts the brightness of your Holy Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen."
And of course there is music which often helps us like “I want to walk as a child of the light, I want to follow Jesus.” Or two of my favorites, “Shine Jesus Shine" and "We are Walking in the Light of the Lord.” (The lyrics are great in all these hymns-look them up!)
As we prepare to enter what I call the “dark season” of the year, a time of the year in which people can begin to feel blue, discouraged or even depressed, please remember the you are and I are bathed eternally, in All the Light We Cannot See.
Blessings,
Jeff
