Thank God for the Light!

“Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: [he is] gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.” (Ps 112:4 AV)

Let’s admit it.  We live in a dark world.  We are surrounded by the evil of men and our own faults and failures.  Those who think the world is one happy place do not have their heads in reality.  All one has to do is sit in a pastor’s office for about a month and see what issues the people of God are challenged with to see we live in a dark world.  Hope is not ignoring the darkness.  Joy is not trying to convince oneself the darkness isn’t really there.  Peace does not come by trying to redefine what darkness is so it doesn’t see so dark.  Our hope comes with the light that shines in the darkness!

Growing up, our family used to do a lot of camping.  Tent camping.  We had the privilege of learning the skills necessary to live without the creature comforts of home.  Almost every night, there would be a campfire.  Sometimes, we would sit around the fire with our guitars and play folk music.  John Denver and the such.  When nature called, we had a log cabin style outhouse (that never really got completed) about fifty yards away and through some pine trees.  Off we would go.  More times than not, we would forget our flashlight.  It didn’t dawn on us until it was too late that we were stuck in the darkness with no light to get back.  The only light we had was the light of the campfire.  Sometimes, that light was burning out.  We took it for granted the flames would continue to be as bright as they always were.  However, it doesn’t take long for a flame filled fire to burn down to embers.  There we were, stuck in a vulnerable position, with little light to guide us back.  We prayed someone would throw more wood on that fire that it might light the entire woods.  Surrounded by man eating wild beasts (like squirrel or possum) and the ghosts of injuns’ past, we were certain death was eminent.  Somehow that placed the bowels in overdrive and our time in peril was shortened.  “Put some wood on that fire so I don’t die out here in the wilderness!”  On went more wood and we returned, barely with our skin intact!

This is the hope we have.  The Bible as our lamp and guide and the Holy Spirit as or comfort and teacher!  It doesn’t erase the darkness, but it guides us out of the darkness.  And, the closer we get to the light, the less the darkness impacts our lives!