Light Overcomes the Darkness

Today I welcome another of my fellow authors, Marji Laine:

 

In my chapter of A Ruby Christmas, Ruby visits Paris, “The City of Light.” You know light isn't seen very well unless it's surrounded by darkness. In fact, my favorite satellite pictures are the ones taken at night that show the countries lit up like a Christmas ornament. I think of them as a spiritual interpretation. Imagine each little pinpoint of light as a heart for God holding the flame of His Spirit. What would your “neighborhood” look like? Would your light shine bright and inspire others to light up? Would it attract those already glowing or does it barely flicker in the darkness surrounding it?

Spiritual Darkness can take many forms:

Self-Deception  This takes the form of the lie that everyone’s going to heaven because God loves us. Or  “I’m a Christian because I go down to the church on Sunday.” This is a particularly dangerous darkness because those who suffer from it have heard the Word of God. They just haven’t listened to what He says.

Apathy  This is another dangerous version of darkness. People who suffer from apathy might be willing to believe in God, but they don’t want to put any effort into living their lives for Him. Their likely response is, “Let me think about this for a little while.” (That’s a seed waiting to be smuggled off by some conniving bird!)

Hostility  This can be painful to the believer, but a person passionate about his opposition to God can become an amazing proclaimer of truth after realizing Christ’s love.

Ignorance  We suffer from more of this particular darkness in America than we realize. The people with this blindness have no idea of their malady and just wait for someone to enlighten them.

Religiosity  This darkness bears such bondage. Those chained in the shackles of this type of lifestyle are begging for the freedom that Christ offers, and they don’t even realize it.

What type of darkness do you see most often? What type did you or do you most suffer from? What can you do to dissolve it?

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Marji is a homeschooling mom of 4 with the oldest working in the mission field in Africa. She spends her days transporting to and from volleyball, teaching writing classes at a local coop, and directing the children’s music program at her church. With decades of leading worship, directing and performing in theatre productions, and script-writing, Marji took the plunge to creating scintillating Christian romance and romantic suspense novels with a side of Texas sassy. She invites readers to unravel their inspiration, seeking a deeper knowledge of the Lord’s Great Mystery that invites us all.

You can read her chapter here.

Search Me O God

Psalm 139:7-12

I’m going through a period where some of my besetting sins are very apparent to me. There are several ways to respond and none of them are particularly pleasant. My natural response is to “hate” myself. I can really beat myself up over my self-indulgence and my poor attitudes. Or I can pray about them and ask the Lord to forgive me and transform me.

But I can’t hide them from God.

I don’t want to get away from God, but sometimes I wish He’d look the other way. Sometimes I wish I had a little cupboard where I could stuff some stuff until I’m ready to deal with it. The problem with Jesus being the light is that He shines in that cupboard and in all the corners that need sweeping out.

When Jesus is around the darkness shines as bright as day. That means there isn’t any darkness. I don’t have dark corners or private cupboards. He sees all my sins all the time.

So when I am aware of my sins, when I’m overwhelmed by them, I’m comforted by knowing that God is aware of them. He’s the One who has brought them to my consciousness. But He doesn’t do it to chastise me or to make me anxious about them. He does it to lead me on the path to eternal life.

I want to walk on that path. I want God’s light to shine on my life and reveal all the dark, ugly places. So I pray with the Psalmist:

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
     test me and know my anxious thoughts.
Point out anything in me that offends you,
     and lead me along the path of everlasting life. (Psalm 139:23-24)

Carefully Determine

Ephesians5:8-10

For the last few years, when I read the Bible I’ve been asking myself what the scripture tells me about what pleases God. 

That’s exactly what Paul tells the Ephesians to do. They must carefully determine what pleases Him. This instruction follows the reminder that they have moved from the darkness to the light.

At one time, we Christians were full of darkness, but now we have light and must live as people of light.

I believe living in the light is another way of saying that we are being sanctified. Having been forgiven of our sins and justified before the Lord, we are now being transformed into the image of Christ.

Living in the light produces only what is good, right and true. It’s encouraging to know that as I walk in the light that Christ sheds on my way, I will do good things. Or, if you don’t mind the mixed metaphor, I will bear good fruit.

This verse brought to mind Micah 6:8. There’s no doubt about how to walk as people of the light because God has told us what is good. To walk in the light is to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God.

And how do we know what is right? We carefully determine what pleases the Lord. There’s a beautiful symmetry in the way God speaks to us in the Bible. It’s full of God’s commands, starting with the Royal Law  to love the Lord with all my heart, soul and mind. That law is expanded on in the Ten Commandments and the rest of the Bible. All we need to know about living in the light is in the Bible.

Jesus is the Light, but His word lights our way. This year, I commit to read the Bible more, and to more carefully look in it for what pleases Him.

Blessings of Walking in the Light

Psalm 56:13, 2 Corinthians 4:6

One of the unusual things I got to do as a missionary kid was to climb a volcano – well, actually, two volcanoes. In both cases, part of the climb was made in the dark, once to see the sunrise from the top and the other to see the lava flow in the dark. It’s hard to climb a little mountain path in the dark, even when you have a flashlight and a guide. You have to look at your feet so you won’t trip over roots or slip on loose rocks. You have to trust that the person in front of you is actually on a path. It’s so much easier to climb in the full light of the day.

That’s the difference between living in spiritual darkness and living in God’s light. 

If I were walking in darkness, I would be slipping, not knowing whether I was even on a path and, even if I didn’t know it, I’d be walking toward death. When I believed in Jesus, He rescued me from death. I know this intellectually, but I don’t really remember walking in darkness. God blessed me by saving me when I was a young child. For me – and I think all Christians, no matter how long they walked in darkness – the real issue is walking in the light.

To walk in the light is to walk in God’s presence. That means that the reason I can see where I’m going is that He is walking in front of me. I can trust Him because He is the light that shows me the path. Psalm 16:11 says,” Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” (KJV)

These are the blessings of walking in the light.

The path of life: Jesus said He came to give us abundant life. (John 10:10) An abundant life is one that is productive, satisfying and not self-centered. I get to live to please Him and that is so much better than living to please myself.

Fullness of joy: Joy gives me strength. I can live that abundant life because I have full joy. I don’t give in to worry or fear or jealousy or moodiness when I’m joyful.

Pleasures for evermore: One of my struggles is giving in to minor pleasures that keep me away from that joy I just mentioned. Eating something right now and then not being hungry for a great meal later. Sleeping a little longer and then not having time to read my Bible in the morning. But when I walk in the light the minor pleasures fade away as I enjoy the true pleasures God has prepared for me. And they will last.

Climbing the volcano in the dark is worth it when you get to the top and see the lava shooting up into the sky or the sun rising over the nearby peaks. But the reason you do it is to see the light. The darkness is something you leave behind you when you get to the light.

Loving in the Light

I John 2:7-9

To live in the light is to love. 

There are a lot of definitions of love in this world and some of what people call love isn’t very healthy. But this passage is clear about it. 

It means to love the way Jesus did. Jesus demonstrated His love for others in a lot of ways. He took time to talk to people that others shunned, like the woman caught in adultery and the Samaritan woman at the well. He healed desperate people like blind men and the woman with the issue of blood. He raised a boy from the dead so he could care for his mother. He cried over the death of his friend Lazarus. In fact, He cried over the entire city of Jerusalem and the people of Israel.

Of course, the most critical way He showed love for everyone, was to die for us. His love was sacrificial.  So to live in the light is to love sacrificially.

But this passage is directed to Christians and tells us that living in the light is loving Christian brothers and sisters. Apparently, Christians can still walk in darkness. Christians who say they live in the light, but hate other Christians.

I can actually measure whether I am living in the light. 

Has someone hurt me badly? Am I unwilling to forgive them? I’m walking in darkness.

Is there someone at church that annoys me? Someone I gossip about? I’m walking in darkness. 

Am I jealous of the attention someone else at church gets? Do I mutter and grumble instead of recognizing their service to our Lord? I’m walking in darkness.

Do I ignore the needs of one of my brothers or sisters because they seem to be always asking for something? Am I too busy to make that phone call? Am I unwilling to give up something I don’t need so I can buy something that someone else needs? I’m walking in darkness.

On the other hand, if I love my brothers and sisters, I’m living in the light.

Jesus is the light of the world. When He saved me, He brought me into His light and showed me the way I should walk. I need to ask Him to shine that light on my relationships with other Christians and dispel any darkness that lingers from my lack of love. 

I want to love my brothers and sisters like Jesus did - sacrificially.