A World of Shadows
Our world can be very dark. Children will go for generations in many corners of our planet without clean water. Successful businessmen will trade their accomplishments in for alcoholism. This very night too many women in our own community will wonder—even if for a moment—if they truly get their husbands’ fullest affections. There are in our midst teenage girls who believe themselves to be paper plates rather than fine china—to be used and tossed on a whim. Young men have been reduced to nothing more than basement dwellers with no ambition beyond their screens. And many of us grope around in the black fog of failure and shame, many regrets haunting us and causing our dreams to fade away.
Some of these things victimize us. Some of these things we bring upon ourselves. All of these things leave us wanting, tired in dark corners, overwhelmed and hurting.
Into this world of shadows Jesus arrived. “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 enlightens everyone, was coming into the world” (John 1:4-5, 9). In the midst of the shadows, Jesus has come, piercing the darkness, shining a light that will never go out. As the Light of the World he causes shame to fade away, replacing shame with honor. He causes our deepest fears to melt, replacing fear with power. He causes sin and guilt to fall away from us, and he replaces these with forgiveness and righteousness. As the Light of the World he opens up the empty places within and fills them with meaning and purpose, hope and joy.
From Darkness to Light
With his death on the cross he purchased for us our passage from death to life, from darkness to light. What he asks of us is not that we work harder or continue scrambling to find our way. What he asks is that we call on him for salvation, that we trust him, confessing to him our sin and shame and our need for a Savior and belief that he is God’s provision for our salvation. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
Is there anything that would keep you from basking in the Light which is Jesus Christ? If there is, name it. Right now. Write it down or say it out loud: “These are the things that I’d rather pursue than living in the liberating light of Jesus Christ.” Be that bold, if you can.
If, however, there is nothing keeping you from basking in the Light which is Jesus Christ, then tell him right now that you want his light to fill your soul. Tell him that you want the darkness that surrounds you to flee. Tell him that you want him to shine his light within you and around you, and that you desire to believe him for your salvation and hope. “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13). Ours is a dark world. It is dark because of circumstances that come our way. And it is dark because of our own choices.
In His Light We Really Live
But in Jesus Christ we can have light that never goes out, illuminating our pathway through the blessings and burdens of this old world, causing all our sin and shame to take flight under the burning light which is his love and grace and mercy and goodness. In his light there is freedom for our souls from the bondage of sin and shame, fear and filth, and there is hope that never fades. With him we are made new, and we really live.