I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else. -C. S. Lewis
"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. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God." -John 3:19-21 ESV
A lot of people skip over these verses.
I know I did for the longest time.
It comes right after the most famous verse in the Bible: John 3:16.
And though we hear these verses all the time... usually our minds are still gripped to verse 16 and 17 while we just rush through these.
But I'm not speaking for everyone.
For me though... I knew these verses. But I didn't let them affect how I lived my life.
Until recently.
It's where the light meets the dark.
Jesus is telling us that light has come into the world... but that we love darkness so much that we don't even realize it. We see something different and hate it. We don't like change. We don't want anything messing with the status quo. We cry out for a savior... but aren't ready or prepared to receive Him.
That was the culture and the society that Jesus had to live through.
The people knew enough about Him to cry out for Him. To ask Him to save, to heal, to talk with them...
But... they didn't want to do anything in return.
They rejected change.
They rejected His message.
They rejected His teaching.
They had ears... but could not hear.
They had eyes... but could not see.
Things haven't changed much have they?
Have you ever been in a really dark room for a long time, or maybe just waking up after a really good sleep, and a light gets turned on?
All of a sudden this brightness just overtakes you and our first reaction...
EYES SHUT!
Hands over our face, or grabbing something to cover our eyes.
Why?
Because it hurts.
Our eyes were adjusted to the dark.
We were comfortable.
And now we need to slowly adjust to this light...
...or we run from it, hide from it, or try to get rid of it.
We blind ourselves to whats going on around us because we don't want to see.
We were comfortable with the dark.
I remember the first time I went to play laser tag... other than it being a great experience, I remember coming out of the laser room, there were two guys working on an air conditioner vent in the room where we were supposed to put our gear after we were done. Usually there was just a black light in that room, nice and dim to help our eyes adjust easier before we went out to the main area where it was bright.
But these guys had all of the lights on so they could see what they were doing.
After spending about 45 minutes in pitch black where there was just a few little laser lights around you and walking into that... my eyes did not appreciate it.
It was too bright.
When Jesus came into the world... He was too bright.
This was the very glory and power of God confined in a human body.
We were comfortable in our darkness.
We knew there was something wrong... but we had been living in the dark so long... we grew accustomed to it.
That's the power of sin.
That's what such a strong separation from God does to us.
"The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him." - John 1:9-11 ESV
Does it still sound so crazy when we hear about how much the Pharisees hated Him?
Can we begin to understand why the crowds were so shallow in their belief of Him?
Do we see why His disciples still didn't get it, even after spending all that time with Him?
They weren't stupid.
They weren't somehow more evil than us.
They weren't crazy.
They weren't ignorant.
They were blind.
They saw light and thought it was bad... because it hurt. It wasn't part of the status quo.
Jesus came to change something.
And not many people liked that change.
He came to show us the only way to God.
He came to build His kingdom.
Restore.
Redeem.
Relate.
Because He loved us too much to leave us in the dark.
To test, strengthen, and restore our faith.
Despite it's weakness.
We find a story about a certain beggar in Luke 18:35-43
As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by." And he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!" And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight." And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well." And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.
'Your faith has made you well.'
What came first?
Sight or faith?
What always comes first?
Faith.
You have to trust before you see. You have to trust Jesus before it all makes sense. You have to begin with faith. The truth has to be believed and trusted, and then you see. Some are waiting to see. And as they wait... they remain blind. They reject the light. You begin with faith and then you see.
We run into this all the time when we are discussing our faith with non-believers.
We can easily get frustrated and we just want to scream, 'DON'T YOU SEE!?!?'
No, they don't.
They are still in the darkness...They're blind.
Just like we used to be.
"people loved the darkness rather than the light"
We all have lived in the darkness. We all are sinners in need of a savior.
But in that moment of accepting Christ, our eyes were opened.
We see the promises Christ fulfilled. The truth he spoke.
It becomes clear to us.
But even with all of the help from the Spirit, and with all of promises we have in the Bible...aren't we still sometimes drawn to the darkness?
We see the things "we're missing", the things that seem fun, that we don't want to have any part of... and yet... they call to us.
It got me thinking about the old song, 'This Little Light of Mine'.
This little light of mine
I'm gonna let it shine
This little light of mine
I'm gonna let it shine
This little light of mine
I'm gonna let it shine
Let it shine
Let it shine
Let it shine
Hide it under a bushel Oh no!
I'm going to let it shine
Hide it under a bushel Oh no!
I'm going to let it shine
Hide it under a bushel Oh no!
I'm going to let it shine
Let it Shine
All the time
Let it shine
Don't let the Devil blow it out
I'm going to let it shine
Don't let the Devil blow it out
I'm going to let it shine
Don't let the Devil blow it out
I'm going to let it shine
Let it Shine
All the time
Let it shine
This little light of mine?
Jesus said He was the light.
But he also said to His disciples:
"You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." -Matthew 5:14-16Though it seems sometimes that we hide, we try to stand in the shadows... enough for people to see there is something different about us, (maybe our church face) that there is a light reflecting off of us, BUT dark enough for us to fit in, to feel comfortable with the rest of the world.
Like putting a shade over a lamp.
A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word, 'darkness' on the walls of his cell.And yet we try... we try all the time. Because we run towards that darkness. Our secrets. Our failures. Our past. Our pains. Our meaningless successes.
-C. S. Lewis
But here's the thing: Our God wastes nothing.
Not one hurt, not one suffering, not one event, not one joy, not one piece of a broken heart, not one hope, not one failure, not one person.
Our God wastes... nothing.
We can't diminish His glory... We can't. Every effort we could even make to diminish just boosts His glory even more.
It's not about how many times we fall, how many times we forsake light for the darkness. It's not about how many times we 'hide it under a bushel', or stand in the shadows...
It's about how many times God picks us back up.
It's about how many times... the Light meets the dark, and pierces through it.
Because no matter how dense the darkness... it only takes one small ray of light to pierce.
“Why blame the dark for being dark? It is far more helpful to ask why the light isn’t as bright as it could be.” -Rob Bell
We can sit around looking at how depressed things are, complaining about all of the evil in this fallen world… Jesus told us to be the light of the world. So Shine! All it takes is one ray of light to pierce the darkest of darkness. Be that ray of light. Shine.
"When we reach past our own pained and hurting lives, and give from the tatters we have to help another soul that is screaming in anguish, we strike a spark that can light the fires of success, passion, healing, and love." -Altair Jenson
Sometimes the best way for 'the blind to see', for others to finally come to grips about who Christ is... they need to see Christ in us.
Jesus said, "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:35)
It's about walking out of the shadows... standing in front of the window of God's grace... light pouring into the room. Turning around not seeing your shadow... but the cross of Christ in it's place.
It's a hope to cling to. A reason to live.
"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. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God." -John 3:19-21 ESVAre we willing to give up the darkness of our hearts to the one who can heal, mend, and pour a love so pure and incomprehensible into it?
Are we ready for light to meet the dark?
God is.
