The First Day: Light Enters (The Life Came to Mankind)
In the Beginning
The Holy Spirit had been traveling back and forth over the dark water-covered earth --in a worried, hand-wringing manner (that's what hovering describes).
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. (Genesis 1:1-2)
The earth is representative of man, both individually and collectively. Here on the first day we see man after the fall. He is lost in darkness; without meaning and purpose to his life; and without hope.
Light Came into the Darkness
The Father effectively said "Let there be salvation for lost mankind" and His Son appeared as the light of the world. God saw His Son and was pleased with Him. He called the light "the life of men." (You can follow this theme in the first chapter of John!) Similarly, the darkness is "death."
And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning-- the first day. (Genesis 1:3-5)
Notice that the Father separated the light from the darkness. We Christians tend to think about things being somewhere between light and dark --like gray is to black and white. God has nothing to do with mixing light and dark (eternal life and eternal death); He intentionally separated them. Light describes being in the presence of God while darkness is the total absence of Him.
Jesus Came into this Dark World
Like the light that came into the darkness, Jesus came into the world to bring life to the dead.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. (John 1:1-5)
We are each born into this world without spiritual life. It's only after we are "born again" that we have eternal life! That's when the darkness (night) turns into light (day) --it's when we receive Jesus for all that He is so that we may become children of God and brothers with Jesus.
The Word Is Life
Darkness versus light is what the first day is about. Yet, isn't it curious that the sun, moon and stars were placed in the heavens three days later? From Genesis to Revelation, light has one symbolic meaning: Eternal life --eternally in the presence with God. Here are two familiar Scripture passages joined together tell how much He wants us to have that eternal life.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. (John 1:1-4)
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. (Psalm 119:105)
God's word --Jesus-- is called a light to our path and lamp to our feet. Not only does He show us the path to get Him, but He also continues to lead us toward Him so we can know exactly where we are along the way. Without Him man is empty --always searching. With Him we have meaning and purpose for our lives.