Jesus once said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)
The disciple John once said, “God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5)
In addition to the verses above, there are numerous scriptures about the theme of light and darkness. One of my favorites is when the prophet Isaiah says, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shined.” (Isaiah 9:2)
For followers of Jesus, this is a central theme to our faith. When you’re down and out, in over your head, between a rock and a hard place, lying in ruins, when your prayers go unanswered, when you’re helpless and hopeless, those of faith know to look for the light on the horizon - if we can just muster the strength to fix our eyes on Jesus, the light of the world, He will come….He has come!
Barbara Brown Taylor points out a parallel truth that we rarely talk about. Barbara Brown Taylor says, “God dwells in deep darkness. God comes to people in dark clouds, dark nights, dark dreams and dark strangers in ways that sometimes scare them half to death but almost always for their good—or at least their renovation. God does some of God’s best work in the dark.”
“God is light” and “God does some of God’s best work in the dark” are not contradicting truths; they are actually complementary truths.
The Apostle Paul was once imprisoned for telling people about Jesus. While looking through his prison bars, he wrote a letter to the Philippians. Paul said, “I am in chains for Christ. And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.” (Philippians 1:13-14)
Most consider prison to be a dark place, but while looking through the bars, Paul only saw Christ. While literally sitting in darkness, all Paul saw was the light of Christ and how his circumstances encouraged others. God does some of his best work in the dark.
Father, I pray you help us to look through the darkness and see your light. Amen.
Peace,
Nick
The disciple John once said, “God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5)
In addition to the verses above, there are numerous scriptures about the theme of light and darkness. One of my favorites is when the prophet Isaiah says, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shined.” (Isaiah 9:2)
For followers of Jesus, this is a central theme to our faith. When you’re down and out, in over your head, between a rock and a hard place, lying in ruins, when your prayers go unanswered, when you’re helpless and hopeless, those of faith know to look for the light on the horizon - if we can just muster the strength to fix our eyes on Jesus, the light of the world, He will come….He has come!
Barbara Brown Taylor points out a parallel truth that we rarely talk about. Barbara Brown Taylor says, “God dwells in deep darkness. God comes to people in dark clouds, dark nights, dark dreams and dark strangers in ways that sometimes scare them half to death but almost always for their good—or at least their renovation. God does some of God’s best work in the dark.”
“God is light” and “God does some of God’s best work in the dark” are not contradicting truths; they are actually complementary truths.
The Apostle Paul was once imprisoned for telling people about Jesus. While looking through his prison bars, he wrote a letter to the Philippians. Paul said, “I am in chains for Christ. And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.” (Philippians 1:13-14)
Most consider prison to be a dark place, but while looking through the bars, Paul only saw Christ. While literally sitting in darkness, all Paul saw was the light of Christ and how his circumstances encouraged others. God does some of his best work in the dark.
Father, I pray you help us to look through the darkness and see your light. Amen.
Peace,
Nick