Ah, you thought this was about race, didn't you? But while I have your attention, let's talk about another kind of darkness.
Generally speaking, no one likes to be in the dark -- literally or figuratively.
If you're the last person to know something (a.k.a. being left in the dark), you don't like it. You feel weird, left out, ostracized.
In scary movies, it's the darkest of dark places that add the greatest fear and suspense for what's coming around the corner. Directors intentionally make the portions of movies intended to scare, dimly lit or even pitch black to evoke the feeling of fear. For we all know there's nothing too scary in a well-lit room.
In life, there's nothing worse that stumbling around a room (no matter how familiar, like your bedroom) in the dark. As we pat around to find the light switch (that's been in the same place for years) we always to manage to stub our pinky toe on the bedpost (that's also been in the same place for years).
If being in the dark sucks so much, why would we want to live in spiritual darkness? If being in the dark was so cool, why did Edison invent the light bulb, cavemen discover fire to light their caves, or God find the need to create a star so big and bright it could give light to the entire earth? Why would we want to live in proverbial fear, feeling our way around life, trying not to stumble and fall?
That doesn't sound cool to me.
Light, in essence, makes things less scary. The light of God makes this life easier to navigate! Light illuminates, exposes, and reveals any and everything. Light is essential in our natural world and in the spiritual one, too.
You are the light of the world -- like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. -- Matthew 5:14-15
Just as silly as it sounds to walk intentionally around your house in darkness, it's even sillier to walk around this life in darkness. God wants us to live in a state of perpetual light. He wants to show you that the places that scare you the most are harmless. He wants to illuminate your path so you never have to worry about stubbing your toe. He wants to show you what it's like to live in His warm, inviting, protective light. He wants you to be able to see everything that's coming your way -- its the best tool you have available to win in a dark, dark world.
Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. -- Psalm 119:105
If you can't see clearly in your life, if things are looking dim and you're trying to find your way, turn your heart toward the greatest light source available to mankind: Christ!
Follow Alisha L. Gordon, M.Ed. on Twitter: www.twitter.com/AlishaLGordon
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