The other
day a fierce windstorm left many of us without power.
Thankfully, useless light switches and inoperable refrigerators were the only
damage we had to endure. For some homeowners, the outage lasted only minutes.
Our electricity was off for seven hours.
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| It's amazing what a little light can do to help dispel the darkness. |
After the
weather front passed, I’d occasionally look out to houses nearby to confirm no
one else had their “juice” restored. Without lights, TV, even use of the
microwave, it provided a bit of comfort knowing we weren’t alone in our brief
misery. It’s not fun being the only one in the dark.
We
experienced this in an unforgettable way nearly 25 years ago. It was after the
“blizzard of ’93,” an unusual winter storm in March that dumped upwards of two
feet of snow throughout our region overnight. Howling winds and blinding snow downed
utility poles and snapped power lines, leaving many people without electricity
for days.
In our
case, it was about 56 hours. Frigid temperatures penetrated our home. There was
no cooking or taking showers (we had an electric water heater), and no TV for
monitoring efforts to restore power.
Everyone in
next subdivision, however, had lights, heat, running appliances, and showers as
hot as desired. “No fair!” I thought. How could they, within walking distance,
have lights and warmth when we didn’t?
Situations
like these are among life’s little “tragedies” that seemingly take forever to
resolve. Then, in a blink of an eye, they’re resolved and we can advance with our
lives. Sadly, other circumstances are not temporary and not so easy to make
light of – in the most literal sense. It’s the darkness that enshrouds the
hearts and souls of men, women and children in our so-called “enlightened” age.
Many people
seem desperately searching, but either uncertain about what they seek or unable
to see what’s readily available. We see the symptoms: Anger, unrest, pain,
bitterness, despair. These are byproducts of underlying issues – a lack of
peace, hope, kindness, respect, love, or meaning. Without these, they grope in
darkness far more profound than a temporary electrical outage.
Jesus often
applied the term “light” to Himself. “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). In the Old Testament, a prophet
wrote of the coming Messiah, “The
people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land
of deep darkness a light has dawned” (Isaiah
9:2).
Sadly, even
though Jesus freely offers His light to dispel the darkness outside and within,
people refuse it. The Bible tells us they’ve grown comfortable in the darkness.
John 3:16
is familiar to most of us: “For God so
loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him
shall not perish but have eternal life.” But a few verses later, Jesus
talked about those who have consciously rejected this most precious of gifts:
“This is the verdict.
Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because
their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not
come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives
by the truth comes into the light…” (John 3:19-21).
As I
reflect upon our latest episode of briefly living in the dark, I wonder why
anyone would choose darkness over the light. After being in the dark for some
time, suddenly encountering light takes getting used to, but soon it becomes
easy to embrace the light and shun the darkness.
Jesus commanded
His followers to shine His light into the darkness, helping others to discover
their own need – and desire – to live in the light. “You are the light of the world – like a city on a hilltop that cannot
be hidden” (Matthew 5:14). The question is, when people see us – Christ’s
disciples – do they see His light, empowered by His Spirit? Or do they see a
weak, flickering beam, barely providing illumination at all because we’re
trying to generate it in our own strength?
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