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Light for the World
by Nelson Spies
'...God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all.' This passage from First John 1:5b tells of God's perfect light in contrast to man's evil. The Pearl, a fictional book by John Steinbeck, illustrates the separation of dark and light in a story about a great pearl that is found by a pearl diver named Kino. Steinbeck depicts Kino and his family in a constant struggle with the forces of evil and sin. The author states, '...there are only good and bad things and black and white things and good and evil things and no in-between anywhere.'1 The contrast of dark behavior and the people dwelling in light is evident from the 
start. John Steinbeck gives many great examples of this in his story.
When Kino found the giant 'Pearl of the World'- 'The great pearl, perfect as the moon'2, he was unaware of the evil that would come with his possession of the round jewel. Although it brought apparent light into the life of Kino, greed overcame the proud owner of this monstrous pearl. Kino knew that the pearl was worth at least 50,000 pesos. He believed it could buy clothing, guns, schooling for his child, and much more. The pearl at first seemed good and its purpose innocent, but it triggered a change in Kino, making him think that it was all-powerful and mighty. When Kino brought the pearl home, evil had also entered. Kino was attacked, followed, and his property was vandalized. All these things can be traced back to the finding of the pearl and the greed of man.
In the unseen side of the tale, music is interwoven with the story. At the beginning, Kino heard the 'Song of the Family', a rhythm of peace, love, and light. When Kino found the pearl, the 'Song of the Pearl' became evident. And just as the warm, happy feelings start, the dark 'Song of Evil' took its place in the story. Kino and his wife Juana had an infant son, Coyotito. After the baby was stung by a scorpion, this evil music played over and over. When the town doctor, a proud white man, came to their house expecting to be paid richly from the pearl, the music was also present. The 'Song of Evil' lingered when the selfish priest arrived and 'blessed' Kino and his family. Both of these prominent citizens were longing to snatch the pearl from Kino. Music was a very old custom for the villagers and played a major role on the stage of dark and light in The Pearl.
Finally, the people of the town witnessed firsthand the adventure and fate of Kino and passed it down to their children in storytelling. Kino's brother, Juan Tomás, cared about Kino and his welfare. When Kino walked to the pearl seller's stalls seeking to sell the Pearl, Juan was there also, counseling Kino about selling the pearl. Juan Tomás as portrayed by John Steinbeck was a caring brother who gladly took Kino into his house to protect him against evil characters. The doctor was one of these, acting as an angry ruler against the natives. He used their weaknesses to his advantage, appearing to the villagers as an 'omniscient' healer. The pudgy physician gave Kino's baby poison to make him sick, pretending it would slow the real poison of the scorpion. He also knew the place where the pearl was hidden under the dirt in Kino's hut, intending to dig it up later. The doctor was the antithesis of Kino's brother Juan.
The story of the desperate family who is overcome by evil is a strong reminder to live like Christ. Believing the gospel and recognizing our sin instead of allowing sin to control us, and casting Christ's light instead of 
bringing darkness is truly living in the light. The book of Revelation in Jesus' words states, 'So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.' (Revelation 3:16) Although Jesus proclaims that we should be hot or cold, his main intent is that we do not mix the truth of the Bible with the evil of the world we live in. We must be true to the Bible's commands, to remember Jesus' reprimand against being 'lukewarm'. Also, in the gospel of John, Jesus says, 'This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.' (John 3:19-21) Those who live in the light do not have to be ashamed, while the dark-dwellers hide in darkness to cover the shame of sin. We should look to God's word, the Bible, as the only instruction manual for help in our lives. Steinbeck gives great examples of what our heart should look like in the eyes of God.
Ephesians 5:8-14
'For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible.'
Footnotes
1John Steinbeck, The Pearl (United States of America: The Penguin Group, 1992) Introduction.
2John Steinbeck, The Pearl (United States of America: The Penguin Group, 1992) 19.
Bibliography
Steinbeck, John. The Pearl. United States of America: The Penguin Group, 1992.
All Bible verses NIV version
Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ©. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.