…Cast the worthless servant into outer darkness. Matthew 25: 30
I heard rain on the roof, but no problem. I needed to take a shower. No one would want to see my greasy hair or smell … Well, you understand. I crawled in and started scrubbing my head, when I heard a big crack of thunder and the lights went out. No windows, no flashlight, no candles, no nothing. Dark. Black. Emptiness. Zilch. My first thought: This is what hell is like. Forever.
My second thought zeroed in on my safety. How do I get out of here without falling and no one finding me—miss me—for days. I shut off the water, fumbled for my towel, and groped for the safety bar, stepped out, and inched my way to the door. Flashes of lightning were enough to illuminate my way to the kitchen to get my battery operated lantern. Yay. Ah, light. I called the power company to report the power outage. Heavy winds and rains had knocked a large chunk of town out of service. Maybe a tree had toppled on the lines. No matter. No power. Reminds me of people.
We do not mean to break the commandments, but we do. We do not deliberately operate our lives on a trajectory of self-indulgence, greed, or power struggles, but we do. We are sinful creatures. We attempt to gain God’s favor and our eternal destiny by doing good, but our spiritual candle burns out all too soon. We end up in the dark.
Darkness is chaos
Darkness is nothingness
Darkness is failure
Darkness is ignorance
Darkness is fear
Darkness is the unknown
Darkness is lack of choice
The obvious remedy for darkness is light.
In Creation:
The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep.
Genesis 1: 2
But…
God said, “Let there be light.” Genesis 1: 3
(Possibly the most quoted verse in the Bible when people flip a light switch!)
Light came into utter chaos, and the first day began. But …
Darkness crept back into the souls of human kind at the Fall in God’s beautiful garden. Since then, the battle between light and darkness continues.
I found the remedy for my experience with total darkness in a battery powered lantern—temporary at best. God’s remedy for human darkness meant He must become the Light.
God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 1 John 1: 5
He offered up Himself as a sin offering on the Cross and was raised from the dead to give us a newness of life.
We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
Romans 6: 4
Ah, the Light is turned on! We trust Him as our only Savior. When we trust Jesus as our Savior and Lord, we become reflective lights in a dark world.
Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5: 16
Perhaps you remain in the darkness, no matter how many candles of hope, good works, and self-righteousness you light. The candles will burn out, and darkness will prevail. Turn away from your own efforts in self-reliance, and trust the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior.
He who comes to me, I will never cast out. John 6: 37
