Darkness

Are you afraid of the dark? If you're more than ten, you'd probably answer no. By the time I was about ten, I told people that I wasn't afraid of the dark, I was just afraid of the stuff that could be HIDING in the dark. But isn't that really what fear of the dark is? Fear of the bogey man. Fear of sinister creatures or creepy crawlies. Fear of the unknown.

I recently began a Bible study in John. The first week delves into the prologue (John 1:1-18), in which we are introduced to Jesus as the Word, the life, and the light which shines into the darkness. And we are told that this Light has not been overcome by the darkness. I've been pondering this for several days. The implication is that the Light has not only not been overcome, but is actually OVERCOMING the darkness.

But as I thought about the darkness, I made some fresh observations. Always before when I read these verses, I thought of the "darkness" as the devil and his demons. There is certainly a sense in which this is true. Christ has shone into the kingdom of darkness, and He has defeated Satan. Another "darkness" into which Christ shines is the darkness of society. There are social issues and injustices, and the light of the gospel shines to improve and alleviate them. But this week, after a season of vicious wrestling with my sin, I was so encouraged to realize that Christ's light has shone, and continues to shine, into the darkness in MY HEART and that darkness HAS NOT OVERCOME. Not only has not, but WILL NOT! Christ will accomplish his purpose in my life for his glory. That is WONDERFUL news!

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 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.
John 1:1-5