If you could choose a superpower, what would it be? Invisibility? Flying? Super strength? What about being phosphorescent? What would it be like to have the ability to glow in the dark?
My Mysterious Mind
A fun place to take people who are visiting the Springfield area, especially if money is limited, is the Missouri Science Institute. Home to Henry, the largest triceratops skeleton ever found, the free museum also has an extensive collection of geologic and prehistoric items. If you visit, please be sure to check out both bathrooms.
Each bathroom features an enclosed showcase. One display consists of an assortment of fossilized poop, definitely a hit to my grandsons. The other bathroom is best enjoyed with the lights turned off. An enclosed case houses a variety of natural, phosphorescent rocks, which delightfully glow in the dark for anyone daring enough to “do their business” without the lights on.
Some rocks glow, but it’s generally not good if a human being does. When we refer to a person who is radiant, that usually isn’t a literal description of glowing in the dark. Pregnant women are often labeled radiant. Perhaps this is due to the bright light of new life glowing from within, undamaged by life in a dark world filled with broken people.
I’m told there are glow worms in caves in New Zealand. This species of fungus gnat emanates a blue-green bioluminescence during the larval stage. Native only to New Zealand, their oddly glowing colonies are a unique tourist attraction. Nests of these strange creatures form glowing strands suspended from the ceiling in a peculiar natural chandelier visible only to people who venture into the dark in specific caves.
Light. Dark. These are words used to identify literal presence or absence of electromagnetic radiation emanating from a source or reflecting off a surface. The visible spectrum of light is what we can detect with our eyes, beyond it in either direction are waves of light we cannot see. Phosphorescent rocks absorb electromagnetic radiation and then disperse those waves.
Light and dark as metaphors capture versions of our lives where things are bright and going well or where those bright feelings are absent. What would it be like to be phosphorescent, to be able to glow with light from within? Would it be a good superpower to have?
Message of Mystery Acres
Fireflies are nature’s enchanting nightlights in the forest. Utilizing a luminescence similar to the New Zealand glowworms, fireflies are a common sight on summer evenings in North America. I grew up catching them, filling a jar of blinking, yellow insects, also known as “lightning bugs.” Many a delighted child has scampered around, chasing the intermittent glow produced by these summer friends. Our grandchildren, too, enjoy the chase.
Catching fireflies requires a keen eye and quick reactions. Only visible when a-glow, the flying lights are dark most of the time. The game of catching them requires watching for a glimpse of light, then anticipating where the flight pattern is going. Guessing correctly will provide a brief opportunity to catch the target when it next lights up.
Glowing in the dark is fun for the children who chase fireflies. The fading of daylight brings the anticipated sport, providing something to enjoy about the disappearance of the sun. I have seen and captured fireflies during the daytime, but it isn’t the same as chasing and catching them in the twilight.
The message of Mystery Acres is a whispered invitation to look for what glows when the darkness quietly descends on a summer day. Like life, there are times when the light is decreasing, and darkness is spreading all around. During those times we can take a cue from children, watching for what glows in the dark, and finding joy in the little bits of light.
Ancient Mystery’s Voice
“Jesus’s face shone like the sun.” (Matthew 17: 2)
During the earthly life of Jesus, He walked among humans as one of them except for a brief mountaintop moment called “the Transfiguration.” Jesus took only three of the twelve disciples with Him for this event, specifically Peter, James, and John the brother of James. Before their eyes, Jesus transformed into a visibly divine version of Himself, the mortal shroud of humanity drawn back for a time.
Matthew, Mark, and Luke, in their books preserved in the Bible, described what happened based on the eyewitness testimony of Peter, James, and James’s brother John. All included a vivid image of Jesus’s clothes becoming extremely white. Matthew wrote that the clothes were “white as the light,” Mark’s description stated the clothes were “dazzling, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them,” and Luke said the clothes became “as bright as a flash of lightning.” Matthew included a detail that Jesus’s face “shone like the sun.” John didn’t include his own first-hand account of this glorious encounter; instead, he recorded a meeting with Jesus in his revelation from the island of Patmos. In the book of Revelation, the first chapter, verse 16, John saw Jesus with His face “like the sun shining in all its brilliance.”
Ok, so it sounds like Jesus has a luminescence superpower. He glows from within, like the sun. And it sounds like this glow-in-the-dark ability isn’t just a metaphor. There are witnesses to how his face shines like the sun when He reveals who He is behind the shroud of mortal skin. But He isn’t a rock that absorbs sunlight and then radiates because of it. He is the source of light.
Ancient Mystery’s voice described the face of Jesus shining like the sun. His followers could be considered phosphorescent, absorbing the radiance of Jesus and then glowing because of it. By being near the source of light, those who are close to Jesus glow in the dark. The more time spent near the light, the brighter and more long-lasting the glow.
Living in Mystery
What does it mean to live in the mystery of being phosphorescent, glowing in the dark? First, it means recognizing the difference between luminescent and phosphorescent. The glowworms are capable of glowing in the dark on their own without needing to be around a source of light; they are luminescent. The rocks in the bathroom at the science museum glow in the dark because of the light they absorb; they are phosphorescent. As applied to humans, I am using these terms as metaphors. Humans are phosphorescent, not luminescent. On their own, people cannot produce light; they only do so because they have absorbed light from somewhere or someone.
If humans need to absorb light to be able to glow, then being near light is necessary, especially for being in dark places. Work in a dark place? Spend time near the Light before going to work so you can be phosphorescent there.
Growing dim? Recharge by spending time near the Light.
Want to keep from losing your glow-in-the-dark ability? Invest time every day near the Light so you can keep your glowing ability charged and ready. Want to glow? Stay near the light.
If being near the Light is so important, what does that even look like? For followers of Jesus, spending time near the Light looks like time reading His words (recorded in the Bible books by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). Being near the Light also includes talking to Him in one’s thoughts, in a journal, or out loud. It also involves sitting quietly and being with Him, even though His presence isn’t visible.
If we want to glow in the dark, we can also choose carefully how much unnecessary time we spend in the dark. Dark choices of media content can uselessly drain our phosphorescence. Allowing our conversations with others to linger in pointless complaining and fault-finding will deplete our absorbed light.
As an old mom to young parents, I encourage you to go catch fireflies with your children. Enjoy the enchantment of bioluminescence on a summer evening. Gather the little blinkers in a jar and ponder their ability to glow in the dark. Then remember to release them.
It turns out each of us actually has the capacity for the superpower of glowing in the dark. To be phosphorescent requires spending time near the light and minimizing worthless depletion of our storage of absorbed light. Want to glow in the dark? Stay near the light as much as possible.
Connecting with Mystery
Dear Lord of All Mystery, I recognize that I am not able to glow on my own. I can however, glow with light absorbed from You. Increase my awareness of when I waste my time in places where my absorbed light is drained. Help me to stay near You, the Light, more and more. Thank You for helping me to glow in the dark. Amen.
Notes from Dr. Mac
If you want to do your own investigation of any of the scriptures I use, I suggest you go to Bible Gateway. This free online version of the Bible allows a search of words or phrases in various translations. I encourage you to read the accounts of the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ. Matthew 17 verses 1 to 2; Mark 9 verses 1 to 3; and Luke 9 verses 28 to 29. Also, I suggest you ponder Jesus’s words in John 8 verse 12 where He stated he is the light of the world.
Do you want more from my writing? I have three years of previous posts, which you can find at my ARCHIVE.
My very first post, from May 8, 2022, is Turn the Page. I have topically organized compilations of some of my previous work in the My Books section. Plus, Mystery’s Voice is on Spotify.
Do you know someone who might enjoy receiving Mystery’s Voice? You can subscribe a friend or family member for free by adding an email address to my mailing list via the Subscribe button below.
I want to know what you’re thinking! You can email me at: Dear Dr. Mac or leave/send a message (see below). I love hearing from you!
Share this post