We’re living in dark times. The world is broken by sin, filled with suffering, conflict, and difficulty. Life is exhausting, particularly in a year of constant uncertainties. Everything requires extra mental energy because nothing is routine right now. It feels like we’ve all been going full tilt for about ten months straight.
Darkness is nothing new. It’s been part of the world since Genesis 3. But even in the judgment of the first sin, there was a promise of light to come through the Messiah: “He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” (Gen. 3:15). The many Messianic promises of the Old Testament were fulfilled when Jesus was born. The Apostle John wrote of Jesus, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it… The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world” (John 1:4-5, 9).
The light continues to shine in the darkness. The darkness will eventually be vanquished, but right now it seems all too prominent. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). Everyone who knows Him has the light. “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6).
Now we as the Body of Christ are reflectors of His light to the world. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden” (Matt. 5:14). May we all walk in the light each day so that we “may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” (Phil. 2:15).
“The Lord is God, and He has made His light to shine upon us” (Psalm 118:27a).
© 2020 Dawn Rutan. Scripture are ESV and image copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.
