The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.
Isaiah 9:2
“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”
C. S. Lewis
I don’t like dim light, like on an overcast day or at dusk before night falls. I squint and turn on more overhead lights. Driving at dusk is always a struggle because the light is dim but headlights don’t actually help either.
On the other hand, I have friends who live like bats. They watch TV in the dark with only the light from the television and a 25 watt bulb in a lamp in the corner. The first thing I do at home is turn on lights throughout the house. However, there are times that the only way to truly see light is in the darkness.
Darkness and Light
In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
John 1:4-5
I’m reminded of a scene from the movie The 10th Kingdom. A young woman is lost inside a mountain and needs to find help for her injured father. By lantern she stumbles onto Snow White’s grave chamber. She panics as one by one the lights go out, and she is thrust into darkness. It is only then that she sees a single beam of sunlight coming through a crack which leads her to the outside. When all of the false lights were burning, she couldn’t see the true light of day.
Light of Life
Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
John 8:12
Sometimes God has to turn off all the false lights and allow darkness to fall for a moment so that we can actually see the true light. We have to get to the end of ourselves before we look to Jesus. We try to fix it ourselves by running around turning on lights when if we would just sit still, we would remember that God is in control. He is the answer.
Share the Light
Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Matthew 5:14
Then, when we make Christ Lord, He lives in us so that the light shines through us into the world. There is a lot of darkness in the world, and it is our job to shine His light into the lives around us.
So, when we are faced with darkness, we can remember to look toward the true light of Jesus and God. Then, we have to look at others through that light to see brothers and sisters in need of Jesus. Often when I run into people or situations that irritate me or make me angry, God tries to show me that there is more going on than I can see. I don’t always listen, but when I do and share a little light, I’m always amazed at the difference it can make even if for just a moment.
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I’m so grateful for all the scriptures that emphasize Jesus as our light. There’s hope and reassurance in those messages and our lives are infinitely blessed. Thank you for sharing, Linda.