In recent weeks we have been confronted once again by the reality of darkness in the world. The school shooting in Uvalde Texas, the news of the widespread sexual misconduct and immorality and subsequent cover-ups within the Southern Baptist Convention, and a multitude of other stories on smaller and individual scales. This darkness can feel heavy, suffocating, and even impenetrable. Despite all the darkness and rumors of darkness, there has been something resonating within my heart, soul, and mind.
Our daughter recently performed in a church program and if you have been in a Christian environment for any length of time, you have undoubtedly seen and heard a children’s performance of “This Little Light of Mine.” I chuckled to myself when the kids at the program began singing this as I thought “Really? Again?” Well, I immediately felt convicted. Yes, convicted. I know that’s a strong word, a foreign word, maybe an uncomfortable word. But that’s what I experienced.
I have been asked not why, but how I remain a Christian considering the brokenness, darkness, and at times, apparent hopelessness that manifests itself in the world and in the church too. One of my answers:
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
I have been watching the show Stranger Things and there is one scene in which one of the protagonists, Max, is in an alternate dimension, and in danger of being destroyed by the darkness, but when hope seems lost, a light shines in the darkness in the form of her favorite song, her friends fighting for her life, and a literal light. That light becomes her salvation as she flees the darkness and runs with everything she has toward it.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
In the New Testament, the reality of light and darkness finds its strongest and clearest development in the works of John, the disciple of Jesus. Light is synonymous with life and that which is good and pure while darkness is synonymous with death and evil. But the Light is more than a comforting notion, it is the person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
When we are confronted with the darkness and brokenness of this life, we are simultaneously reminded that there is hope in the person of Jesus, the one to whom John bears witness saying,
The light is here and now if you have eyes to see and ears to hear. The light is yet to come for those who can believe it. We are daily confronted with darkness, yet we are not called to escapism but to confront the darkness by letting the light of Christ shine through us as we extend ourselves by our words and deeds to those who dwell in the darkness. So then, in the truth conveyed through that children’s song, are you hiding your light under a basket or are you going to let it shine?
Singer, songwriter, and author, Sandra McCracken recently wrote a book titled Send Out Your Light. I highly recommend it. Here is the link to her book and music catalog which has brought me comfort and perspective in recent weeks:
Also here is the song Is He Worthy? by Andrew Peterson. I’m sure we have shared it before but here it is again: