He made the light, so He knows how it works. Did these three musicians imagine that such a light would behave like this animation, as it passes through a prism and is dispersed in all of white light’s various colors (see the picture/animation here)? To someone who knows not how it works, nor trusts the Creator of this phenomenon, this spectacle would probably be alarming, even terrifying. That must have been what three young men (all of them in their 20s or early 30s) named Billy Smiley, Mark Gersmehl, and Bob Farrell thought when they collectively asked God to ‘Shine Down” a light on their world. Something or someone was disturbing them and their journey, so they boldly sought the intervention of Him, the One who is the Maker and Preserver of all good things. The paths of Billy and Mark would co-mingle for several years, while Bob’s was in a different but not dissimilar area; and so, at least a brief collaboration ensued between the three men to say something they all believed.
At least two of the ‘Shine Down’ authors emerged from the influence of Bill Gaither and his southern gospel music ventures in the early 1980s. Billy and Mark were part of the Gaither Vocal Band in 1981, a time when they and some others from Gaither musical groups decided to form a new group, White Heart. Perhaps Bob Farrell had at least an indirect musical relationship with the Gaithers or with White Heart in the early 1980s when ‘Shine Down’ was conceived (in 1984). Bob’s ventures in Christian music since the early 1970s included (according to the Farrell and Farrell website that he and his wife Jayne sponsor) performance and songwriting with various Christian music artists, so we could imagine the paths of the Gaithers, Bob Farrell, Mark Gersmehl, and Billy Smiley, and probably many others, criss-crossing on occasion. That’s just the way the music industry is; sharing ideas between like believers is also one way His Spirit moves and makes things happen synergistically. And so, these three collaborated in a way that remains untold, except for the two verses and chorus that they penned. And, that’s OK, because what they said was not about themselves, but instead about the light-giver. Were the three of them actually sharing with each other what an ancient writer had to say about light and darkness (John 3:19-21), that the darkness is afraid of the light because the misdeeds of evil people are exposed when it comes? It would not be uncommon for fellow believers to share with one another the miseries of life, and to pray for rectification. They pleaded for His power to visit one or perhaps several circumstances, because ‘…darkness flees..’ when He is around. And, it wasn’t just a relief from trouble that they wanted, but the courage they would gain from His presence – ‘…let the people see.’
Does the light ever really vanish, or do we just not see some of it at times? Like the light before it goes through a prism, is some of His working – His colors – unnoticed until we look more closely? Billy, Mark, and Bob’s two verses extend the initial thoughts they give us in their chorus refrain. We can beg Him to send light to earth, but they remind us that there’s a place and a time when light will always be present. That land full of glory (v.1), that city (v.2) where He lives, will be forever illuminated. This ground where I live is covered by darkness, sometimes up to 14 hours every day in the deepest part of winter. Some people actually have a condition called SAD, seasonal affective disorder, because of the minimal light. How about you? Are you SAD, but because God’s light is missing? You’re not alone – Billy, Mark, and Bob felt the same way once. We can all go to the perpetual light, someday!
See here for brief biography of two of the authors: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Smiley
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Gersmehl
here’s a link to the group that two of the authors formed, and which may have contributed to the song’s development: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Heart
The is a link to a site for the possible third author and his wife: https://www.westcoast.dk/artists/f/farrell-and-farrell/
No comments:
Post a Comment