Turn the Lights On!

“Jeedoo, it’s dark,” My grandson was spending the night. He whimpered, “I’m afraid of the dark.”

After a few reassurances and a night light, he went back to sleep.

I understand. I’m still a little afraid of the dark too.

Just the other night my husband was gone and the wind was howling. Clouds cloaked the moon and heavy rain completed the darkness. Then the noise started. Repeated sounds like someone walking downstairs. No, I know that noise—it’s tree branches blown against the windows. Fear subsided.

I prefer light to dark, so I turn lights on, open blinds, close off dark rooms. I’m grateful that my ever-present phone gives me instant access to light.

Are you afraid of the dark?

Most of us, wisely, have some fear of the dark. Bad things happen in the dark. I stumble and stub my toe, I get lost, I have accidents, I make unwise choices. Even more, evil—sometimes terrible evil--lurks in the darkness.

I want a night light in the hall, a flashlight on the path, headlights on the car, streetlights on the road.

I love light.

So I am grateful that “the people living in darkness have seen a great light.” That light is Jesus.

Jesus tells us He is the Light of the World. The one who illuminates the darkness, who enlightens our minds, who shows us the way, who protects us from evil.

Let your light shine

But here is an astounding, impossible and incomprehensible truth: Jesus says that I am the light of the world.  You are the light of the world.

Amazing! Astonishing! He desires to use us to dispel the darkness, to light the way, to shine in dark places, to help lost people see where they are going.

How? He lives in us, loves through us and shines out from us.

Lord, may I be a significant night light, a powerful flashlight, a major floodlight. Use me to help disperse darkness, diffuse fear, destroy evil.

May my light shine.

What about you? What are you afraid of?

cJudyDouglass 2018