Out of darkness and into the light

I saw that wisdom is better than folly, just as light is better than darkness. - Ecclesiastes 2:13.

There's something about darkness I do not like. I don't like dark woods or dark rooms, and I certainly don't like the darkness that night brings, especially during our long Maine, winters where we have less than 9 hours of daylight. The only good thing about that is the Christmas lights everywhere! As a child darkness brought with it much fear. At bedtime I would hide under the blankets and breathe very shallow breathes, trying not to make a single sound or any movement. It was absolutely tormenting but morning somehow always brought great relief. I remember being a bit older and being asked to go to the mailbox to get the mail, sometimes after it was dark. Well, I was terribly afraid of what might jump out of the bushes! I would tip toe all the way down to the mail box, which of course was on the other side of the street where there was only woods and shadows. I'd carefully grab the mail, tip toe back across the road, then I'd get to the driveway and run as fast as I could possibly could, all the way to the front steps. My heart would beat so fast that it seemed as if it might beat right out of my chest! Not that the distance from the driveway to the front door was very far, mind you, but as a child, it seemed like a very long way in the dark! We did have a street light in our front yard so it wasn't exactly pitch black but it was dark enough beyond the shadows that whatever might be in those shadows, I did not want to know. Yes, it all sounds quite dramatic but to me it was real. As an adult, I have grown beyond much of the drama, though I still have a strong dislike of darkness. There is still something peaceful to me with the with the rising of the sun each morning.

We know that if anyone is in Christ, he (or she) is a new creation, according to 2 Corinthians 5:17. According to Romans 8:29, we have been conformed to the image of Christ. We bear His image. Whose reflection do you see when you look in the mirror every morning? Whose reflection does your spouse see, or your children, or your coworkers, when they look at you every day? Remember the Sunday school song "This little light of mine"? Do you let your light shine? Are you letting the light of Christ shine through you? Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. - Matthew 5:16. Our light should shine so brightly before those in our lives, that when they when see us, they glorify the Father.

Instead, we often hide our light and instead show forth out of our lives the misery, sorrow, confusion and the wilderness or desert that we may be going through, go through. The first place where we read about darkness in God's Word is in Genesis chapter one. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters - Genesis 1:2.

Let's break that verse down and look at it in the Hebrew language. Without form: that word form means to lie in waste, a desert, confusion, an empty place, a wilderness. The word void means to be empty. Let's look at the word darkness: the Hebrew word is Chosek. It means the dark, misery, destruction, death, ignorance, sorrow, wickedness, night, and obscurity. In Genesis chapter 1 the earth was without from, a place of confusion, (no order), empty, and filled with misery, death, sorrow, and wickedness. Praise be to God, He did not leave the earth in that state! The Spirit of God was hovering over it in spite of the condition it was in. That is so like God! No matter what state we find ourselves in, He is still there, never far away. It’s impossible to disappear from you or to ask the darkness to hide me, for your presence is everywhere, bringing light - Psalm 139:11.

Genesis 1:3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. The Hebrew word for light is 'owr. It means illumination, bright, clear, day, morning, sun. Also, to make luminous, break of day, glorious, set on fire, to shine. Notice the word illumination. To illuminate means to provide insight, clarity, or understanding. Which describes your own world? Is there clarity, understanding, brightness, or is there darkness, destruction, sorrow, misery, etc...? Which are you walking in? Which does your life reflect?

This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Jesus is that light spoken here in John 3:19. That word light in the Greek is phos and it means to shine or make manifest, especially by rays. Luminousness. There's that word Luminous again! With light comes revelation. Remember that Jesus said that if we see Him, we see the father. John 12:45. Jesus is the revelation of the Father. He said in John 5:19 “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. You could also say it this way: Jesus is the image of His father. Remember that we have been conformed into the image of Christ. In John 8:12 Jesus declares "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Before Christ we walked in darkness. Our lives were much like the earth in Genesis chapter 1. There was chaos, misery, destruction, sorrow, etc... Then Christ came in and because He is light, He lights the way to the Father. He brings illumination into our dark worlds. He brings us revelation of the Father and of who we are to the Father. And guess what? He bears the Father's image. Remember in one of my previous blogs I shared how with every miracle that Jesus performed, He did it out of the Father's heart. If he only did what he saw his father doing, the Father, through Christ, brought healing and deliverance. The compassion Jesus had for the multitudes was the same compassion the Father has. He has that compassion for you! The Father's heart, you daddy's heart, longs to bring His light into your darkness, His form into your chaos, His illumination and revelation to the confused parts of your soul. - But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; - 1 Peter 2:9.

He has not left you in the dark, left you void, empty, confused, without hope. He has called you! You may think you found Him somewhere along the roadway of your life but no, He called you! He had a plan from the beginning to make something great, something glorious out of empty darkness that filled your soul. You have been chosen! He is calling your name! I think of my school days when the teacher would take attendance. Those not present to respond when their name was being called were "absent". We have too many in the body of Christ who are "absent". They are just going through the motions, being religious with no real relationship with the Father. I remember how the substitute teacher would always get my name wrong and it would be so embarrassing! But not your father. He knows you by name! He is personal. He is intimate. He is calling you out of chaos, out of confusion into His glorious light of revelation.

Would you answer the call? Would you like the young child Samuel humbly answer "Speak Lord, your servant is listening."? There is no darkness to great for Him. Follow after Him and you will never be in darkness! Let Him shine in you and through you and others will praise Him and give Him glory. - The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:5