What Lights Up Your Life?

Most of the light that enters our eyes comes from a source heated to a point that it gives off light – the sun, light bulbs, stars, forest fires and candles are good examples. Little of that light, however, enters directly. Rather it is reflected – off of clouds, walls, papers we’re trying to read. You recognize this. Few things in our lives produce light on their own.

And yet there are a few living organisms that do produce their own light. When the word bioluminescence is mentioned, those who recognize the word typically think of glow worms or lightning bugs – actually a type of beetle. Both male and female beetles have an organ at the rear of their abdomen that chemically produces flashes of light – without the production of measurable heat. It is often referred to as cold light.

There are other organisms that have this capability, – a number of molds that decompose rotting logs in the forest, a few other insects,
some jellyfish, and a handful of bacteria species – all able to bioluminesce. There is also a group of one-celled marine organisms (phytoplankton) that has some members that can do this. These are the dinoflagellates – so-named because the cells all possess a pair of flagella with which they can achieve a modicum of locomotion. While there is a fairly long list of those that bioluminesce, the three genera that I became acquainted with while in college were Noctiluca, Gymnodinium, and Gonyaulux, since they are a major source of bioluminescence in Puget Sound in Washington State. In fact, while I was in attendance, the Marine station had a forty-foot fishing boat name the Noctiluca. As a footnote, I might mention that this same group is often responsible for the “red tides” at summer bathing beaches.

For the most part, the organisms which luminesce have the ability to control when their lights are on and off. Most of them don't glow all the time.

Anyone who’s gone for a night-time cruise in the tropics has seen evidence of the presence of the dinoflagellates. They are largely responsible for the glow in the wake and bow waves as the ship moves through the water. And those who’ve gone night-diving in the tropics often come back with wondrous tales of sparkling water as they swam. The glow is real. It’s not just the emotional effects of some mid-night cruise.

Back in the mid-90’s I co-taught a course on the Biology of Baja California. One of our days would be spent going out into the Sea of Cortez (politically known as the Gulf of California) to see some islands that had sea bird and sea lion colonies. We would time our trip so that it was dark as we returned to Bahia de Los Angeles, where we had our base. The captain would turn out all the lights except for his running lights so we could see the bioluminescence. And the students were always given a treat. You could tell where schools of fish were because you’d see a sudden star-burst down in the water as the fish scattered. Porpoises swimming toward the ship looked like torpedoes, or fast-moving water snakes. But the greatest thrill of all would be when a deep-feeding whale would pass by.

A few deep-water fish have bioluminescent patches on their skin. But the fish themselves are not bioluminescent. Specific locations on the skin harbor colonies of bioluminescent bacteria. Somehow, the fish are able to cause the bacteria to fluoresce on command. Why the fish have these patches is only a guess. It is hard to have a conversation with a fish that lives at the bottom of the ocean. By some means, these fish do something, or produce something at these specific body locations that support the bacterial life. I suppose that, potentially, a fish could become sick and lose the attractiveness of its skin patches. Then its light would go out.

In the spiritual realm, we are like those fish. Paul tells us to “Let your light so shine…” But we’re not bioluminescent. What light? Of course, Christ is the “light”. We can only glow spiritually when the source of light is dwelling in our hearts. Christ is to shine through us. But in order to keep the luminescence thriving in our lives, we have to keep our relationship with its source healthy. When we do this, we’ll be like the city on the hillside, a light drawing all to Him.

Have a great day.

Dr. G