"I am the light of the world" - Jesus
"People living in darkness have seen a great light" - John the Baptist about Jesus
"You are the light of the world" - Believers in Christ (or better stated: the light of Christ, the original light, in believers)
So, as I began to mediate on this concept of light and dark an image began to emerge in my mind. It was of a single candle. Each of us can only be held accountable for our own actions, so in my mind's eye I saw each one of us as a single candle, responsible for the light that radiates from our lives. Then I began to ask myself:
If I am the light, then my am I afraid of the dark?
It seemed odd to me. Almost comical. But I earnestly wanted to get my brain around it, so I followed the rabbit hole a little while longer, and a concept began to emerge out of the seemingly endless sea of contemplation in my head...
Could it be that we as Christians are not actually afraid of the dark, but we are afraid of the light?
What I mean by that is simply this. I believe that many followers of Christ today have, by purpose or by proxy, put a dimmer switch on their candle and turned it down. The problem is we don't notice it! The reason is because when all we do as Christians is gather with other Christians in a safe, already lit up building, we don't notice the difference as much.
BUT
When you take a single candle into a completely dark room, there is no hiding or denying that it is there and of the impact that it is making. Please don't forget that dark or darkness can't even be defined by science. It is only the absence of light! So, by default or by design, our actions betray us as people who really fear the light not the dark.
- Just a thought.
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1 comment:
You talked about this last night as well, so I've had a little time to think about it. I think you're right. I've been in "church" all my life and I've read the Bible and done all the little things required of me in order to be acceptable in a "church" environment. But the times that truly test one's faith are when you're completely surrounded by unbelievers and they're really watching you. Kind of like moths to a flame. And these people want to see something bright and appealing and real and safe. They'll mock you if you aren't "hot" or "bright" enough. So you almost totally turn your light off like hiding behind a mask -- as if turning the light down makes some of your "flame appeal" go away so the people will stop watching you. But it doesn't work that way. It just makes you look stupid and weak. So the cycle continues. Like a dog chasing its tail or going back to its vomit. We can be pretty silly sometimes, can't we?
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