The lights God made on the fourth day were established "to rule over the day and over the night" by their shining (Gen. 1:18a). The light not only shines, but also rules by its shining. Where there is shining, there is ruling. Darkness brings in confusion, but light regulates. For the growth of life, we need the ruling and the regulating of the fourth-day lights.
The lights on the fourth day also "divide the light from the darkness" (Gen. 1:18b). The separation of the light from the darkness, as we have seen in message three, had happened already (Gen. 1:4). Now, the ruling of the fourth-day lights' shining strengthens this separation. For the growth of life, we need the ruling of the lights and also the strengthening of the separation. This is the second requirement for the growth of life.
On the fifth day, the lower life with the lowest consciousness came into being (Gen. 1:20-22). Although every form of animal life has some level of consciousness, some lives are higher and others are lower. First, the fish are mentioned, the animal life with the lowest consciousness. We have all had some experience of this. Suppose there are some goldfish swimming in the water and we come near them. They will be frightened away. However, if we scatter some food into the water and keep away, all the fish will return. This life is higher than the tree life, higher than the plant life (Ezek. 47:7, 9). Although it is not very high, it is higher. This is the first step of the growth of life.
The fish in the sea live in salt water. As a rule, salt water doesn't grow anything; it kills, allowing nearly no plants to grow. Salt water kills life. Fish, however, can live in salt water. The water may be salty, but the fish will never be salty, unless they are dead. This is quite meaningful.
All of humanity, the entire human society, is like a great salt sea. Yet, we Christians are so living. We can be alive and live in such a society and not be salted by it. But once we are dead, we will become salty. The Chinese people used to eat a great deal of salted fish. First, they killed the living fish and then put them into salt until all the fish became salty. When the fish were living, salt could do nothing to them; they could live in the salt water. This is wonderful. We Christians who have the life of Christ can live in this dark, evil society. However, if we become dead, we will be salted. Today, if you are so living and one of your schoolmates tempts you to go to a movie or to take some drugs, you will say, "No." Nothing can influence you. But, if you are dead, you will first be brought to the movie theater like a sheep to the slaughter. Once you have been slaughtered, you will be dead, take drugs, even heroin. You will be salted. But hallelujah! We can never be salted because we have life. Life repels every kind of salt from the dead sea. This life can survive in any death situation. In the midst of an environment of death, this life can still survive. This is good; yet there is more.