In the fading days of fall in a year like 2020 it can be hard to see much light. Whether that’s light at the end of this pandemic-tunnel that we’ve been in for 9 months or light at the end of the workday, at times darkness can seem to surround and even consume us. Darkness outside us can lead to hopelessness within us, and the bosom companion to hopelessness is fear. (And as many a Jedi has told us, “fear is the path to the dark side.”) Anyone with Seasonal Affective Disorder can testify about how outer darkness can transform into inner darkness and the fruits that come from it: a downcast demeanor, a cynical spirit, a lonely heart, and so on. This is not humanity’s intended state, but – apart from God – it is our natural state.
Here comes the great, “however!”
In Genesis we’re told that, “darkness was over the face of the deep… and God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” 1st John tells us that, “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” 1st Thessalonians proclaims that followers of Christ, “are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.” And Paul tells Timothy in his second letter that, “God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” These are powerful images for us to see and be stirred up by! ‘Tis the season that we remember that God the Father created light in the beginning and that Jesus entered the darkness of a world ruled by sin and declared, “I am the light of the world,” and tells you that, “you are the light of the world,” and should, “let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your father who is in heaven.”
If you’re feeling down and in need of some light, I commend to you the words of the psalmist when he tells the Lord, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Let us use this time of advent to be guided by the light of God’s word, filled with the light of His Spirit, and reflecting the light of His glory as we meditate on who He is and what He has done for us.
-Joel