Light in the Darkness

Light is a funny thing.  The sun comes up every morning, even bringing excessive brightness or heat at certain times of the year. It is a constant until you go without it for a while. Now, I do not live in Alaska, but we do have pretty good winters in Montana, and this year was a doozy. For the majority of February, our temps were below zero every day.  Last week, we had a few days below -20.  With the added darkness of the winters here, the weather was in a word: oppressive. And then just like that, the high was above zero, above 30, and today, above 50.  And everything changed. We could see the days getting longer, and all of a sudden we could appreciate the beauty of the snow on our beautiful “rimrocks”, and light.  What a difference a little bit of light makes. 

The Bible is full of references to light. The first reference is of course the light in Genesis 1:3, God’s first act of creation.  Without light, the earth would be covered with darkness, making all of the rest of creation null and void.  One of the plagues Moses was ordered to place upon Egypt was darkness. Exodus 10 tells us,   “‘Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt.’  So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was pitch darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days.  They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but all the people of Israel had light where they lived” (Exodus 10:21-23, ESV).  Darkness prevents sight. While this gave the Israelites a chance to gain freedom from oppression, spiritual darkness prevents us from seeing God’s truth.  Isaiah 42 tells us, “I am the Lord:  I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people; a light for the nations, to open eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness” (42: 6-7, ESV). Despite our seemingly comfortable lives, we are all vulnerable to darkness without Christ.  We cannot see our own sin or God’s view of the world around us without his spirit. Jesus told the Pharisees, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12, ESV). 

Not only are we completely reliant on Christ to see clearly, but we are expected to shine his light in this fallen world. Psalm 119 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (119:105). The verses following show the Psalmist’s suffering.  He laments “I am severely afflicted” and “The wicked have laid a snare for me” (119: 107a, 110a, ESV). In both cases, he mentions how God’s word sustains him saying, “give me life, according to your word” (119: 107, ESV). It doesn’t take much to notice that the world we live in is in turmoil.  Whether it be wars among countries, political unrest within our country, general suffering, financial struggles, or mental illness, darkness is all around us. And while we are to cling to the light of God’s word, we are also to display that light to others.  In the sermon on the mount, Christ commands us to be the salt and light of the world. He does not say “Please be the light”, he says “You are the light of the world.  A city on a hill cannot be hidden . . . let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good words and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5: 14, 16, ESV). 

As citizens of a crazy world, there are a myriad of obstacles that prevent us from shining our light. If we are honest, we are afraid.  We are faced with many disconcerting issues.  Whether it is the disintegration of the family and traditional gender roles, the devaluing of human life, or the attack on Judeo-Christian values, we don’t know what to think.  Instead of boldly shining our light, we tend to want to shrink back from this world that seems to delve further and further in darkness.  We create a little circle of like-minded allies, seeking to have as little contact with our neighbors living in darkness. Let’s be honest.  We know that we were commanded to shine our light, but we are tempted to say, “But God, you haven’t seen what is happening!  I think the world is too far gone for you to save anyone”. Prior to his ascension, Jesus tries to explain that he will leave and his disciples will scatter. The disciples could not truly grasp what Jesus was telling them about this drastic change. In their minds, they had no concept of doing this ministry without him.  To comfort them, he said, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace.  In the world, you will have tribulation.  But take heart; I have overcome the word” (John 16:33, ESV). Not only would they have to go on without his physical presence, but they would be scattered throughout the known world. 

Like the disciples, we are easily frightened.  While we have the Holy Spirit, something they didn’t yet have, we don’t always know what to do with the people around us who think and live differently than us.  The truth?  The world around us lacks hope. As a public school teacher, I see it every day. They are struggling to find purpose in a world that just “happened” without a creator.  As a result, the only significance they have is what they can accomplish.  No wonder they are so easily swayed by any myriad of identities and ideologies floating around.  The truth? They desperately need a light we often withhold because of our discomfort with their life choices.  
Jonah was in a similar boat, or a whale, to be exact.  He was told to go to Nineveh and “ . . . call out against it, for their evil has come up before me [God]” ) (Jonah 1:2, ESV).  Instead of obeying God, he fled to Tarshish (Jonah 1:3, ESV).  Now, why Jonah fled is not explicitly stated.  Ligonier Ministries suggests that he abhorred the people there and didn’t want them to repent.  The article “Jonah’s Anger” suggests, “We are too much like Jonah, hoping God will crush our enemies instead of saving them” (Ligonier Ministries, 2013). Miraculously, the extremely corrupt people of Nineveh “believed God” (Nineveh 3:5, ESV). And God intends to save many more people, some we thought would never come to him. Matthew 24 prophesies, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14, ESV). While we as Christians are increasingly uncomfortable with the direction our world (and society) is headed, we are called to shine the light of Christ until he comes. Rather than run from those that we disagree with, may we willingly find ways to sail (or walk) into the places in our community that need his light more than ever. Who knows? God may have a brother or sister waiting there for us.