Of Light and Darkness

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of man. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:1-5, ESV)

Many years ago, my family visited some nearby caverns. This was a while ago, so I don’t remember very much. What I do remember is when our tour guide showed us what a cave was like without the lights on. She explained that she was going to turn the lights off, and when she did, no one could be allowed to move. This was because it was going to be so dark that if a child wearing those shows that light up when you step in them moved and the lights went off, that small bit of colored light would be so bright in comparison to the cave darkness that it would blind us. She turned off the lights, leaving us for a minute in the darkest, blackest, heaviest darkness you can imagine. I can still remember the feeling of darkness surrounding me; complete, utter, darkness, darker than it is when you close your eyes. The guide told us to close our eyes while she turned the lights back on. I remember being very nervous to open my eyes. I sure didn’t want to be blind. Even such a tiny prick of light from a small child’s shoe could blind me, and surely the cave lights would be much worse.

Darkness. Light and darkness is a common theme in books and movies. Light is good, darkness is bad. The ultimate opposites. The ultimate contrasts.

Light is always, always the “right.” As a Christian, I believe there’s a good reason for that. Simply, Jesus created light, setting it most clearly apart from darkness.

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities -- all things were created through him and for him… For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.” (Colossians 1:15-16, 19, ESV)

Jesus is light. The source of light. The true Light of the world.
We don’t like darkness. We don’t like not being able to see. Yet those remaining in unrepentant sin walk in the greatest darkness that has ever existed. But they think they know where they’re going, and they don’t think they need the light turned on.

The only thing that un-makes darkness is light. In this technologically-advanced age, we can simply flip a switch and fill a room with light. But what if we’re too scared to turn on the light? All the sins we have committed are part of darkness, a darkness that is part of us. And if we don’t repent of them and ask forgiveness for them, then the darkness is hidden away, crippling us. Or even wrong thoughts, bitter thoughts, hateful thoughts, envious thoughts, are slivers of darkness crippling us. The darkness becomes part of us. It cripples us, but we can’t let go of it because we’re afraid to turn the light on. We’re afraid to have the spotlight on our darkness, to have it all revealed.

“And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world and people loved the darkness rather than the light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light lest his works should be exposed. “(John 3:19-20, ESV)

But we don’t have to fear that. One of the pastors at my church was once discussing in one of his sermons how we feel about Christ seeing our sins, specifically at the Judgment Day. He described it as “alarming and comforting.” Alarming because a bright spotlight will be shone into the darkest corners of our hearts and our sins will be revealed. But there is comfort. And that because: The sins revealed are pardoned, forgiven sins. Pardoned and forgiven by Christ’s death for us. Christ, the source of light, the life of man, the True Light of the world. We don’t have to fear the darkness. Instead, the Light clears away the darkness and makes us whole.

So we don’t have to be afraid to turn on the light. Even though the smallest sliver of light will show all our worst faults, we need it desperately. Only through the Light of Christ can we become truly whole.