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| I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. John 12:46 What is darkness? Well, I guess it's the absence of light. If you turn out a light, cover the sun or the moon you are plunged into darkness. As I tend to do, I looked darkness up in my dictionary and it simply said "state of being dark". Which wasn't over helpful, so I looked up "dark". And apart from the normal things, it says, "secret, mysterious, evil," It even mentioned the "dark ages". which was one period of our history, and someone once explained it to me that it was simply because we didn't know enough about it and what went on then. The times were dark to us through lack of information. I'm also not sure that darkness on it's own is evil, it sometimes feels creepy, but that is simply because we can't see what we're doing and where we're going. I know how much I dislike a power cut, where you are suddenly plunged into intense darkness, because all the street lights have gone out as well! And there are times when we need darkness, like when we sleep. Our eyelids do a fantastic job of keeping light out, but I remember when someone down the other end of the housing block pointed their security light in the wrong direction and it blazed light into my bedroom for most of the night - making me extremely bad tempered. However, we do know that evil likes darkness, because it cannot be seen what for it is and what it is doing. Paul encourages us to "put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light." Romans 13:12 If we read the gospels we see that darkness is mentioned when Jesus died. "It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining." Luke 23:44-45a "At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, and at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" which means "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Mark 15:33-34 It seemed that at the moment of Jesus' most intense distress, His creation echoed that deep distress of the soul and was stricken. If we recall that Jesus controlled the winds and the waves, why shouldn't the sun cover it's face in mourning, when it's creator called out in grief and pain? Jesus knows all about darkness, He was cut off from his Father for the first time ever on the cross, and He went through the darkness of death into resurrection. He understands our trials with evil, He understands our fears and pains and He desires that we shouldn't walk in the pit of darkness, but instead wants us to walk with Him who is the Light of the World. "Lighten our darkness, Lord we pray, and defend us from all perils and dangers of this night." This prayer has been my bedtime companion for nearly as long as I've professed to loving Jesus. Before knowing Him I was wracked by evil dreams just about every night, I used to sleep on my back for fear that "something" would creep up while I wasn't watching. And who can "watch" while they are asleep?! I now wonder whether I ought to adapt it for praying at the beginning of the day as well. To ask that Jesus will give me enlightenment so that I may walk in His light and not walk in darkness. I'm going to finish with some words from the Apostle Paul's letter to the Ephesians: "I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms," Ephesians 1:18-20 Evelyn
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Revised: March 22nd, 2010 . |
