The Great Light

Originally published April 20, 2024

I had a nightmare a couple of months ago, the kind you wake up from and instantly go to prayer thanking God it was only a dream. I was in one of those odd, never-never land states where I consciously knew I was in the bed in my sister-in-law’s home, but my subconscious was calling the shots. I began straining to make out something, anything in the inky blackness. No matter where I looked, I could not discern anything—no window, no furniture, no light under the door. In this dreamlike state, I finally decided I was blind. I didn’t know how it had happened, because I had gone to bed fine. Simply put, I was terrified and began to think how hard life was going to be now that I couldn’t see. Each second, I became more and more frantic, and I could feel my heart racing. Suddenly, however, I noticed a tiny green dot of light blinking on the ceiling. The smoke detector! I wasn’t blind!! I woke up and was so relieved I almost cried out in joy.

Life is much like that, isn’t it? Sometimes the blackness comes upon us, we its unwitting victims. What in the world to do? We are desolate, terrified, enraged, and any number of other emotions. The darkness is so thick and suffocating we think we may die. Some of the darkness we want desperately to escape—impending divorce, death of loved ones, financial collapse, catastrophic illness -- and can’t find the way out. Yet, sometimes, truth to tell, we actually run toward the darkness for some crazy reason, enjoying the payoffs of addictions, compulsions, and a host of other destructive states. We become slaves to a plethora of little gods, thinking they willmake us happy, safe, and secure. Frightened, we follow these innumerable rabbit trails, but the farther away we get from the Great Light, the more unhappy and insecure we become. In either case, we frequently end up lost in an abyss of murky shadows, losing hope that we will ever find our way back.

Isaiah tells us, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light” (9:1).

Anyone who has read the Bible knows that Jesus is the Great Light. What we don’t have down is how that “Great Light” actually plays out in our lives. It is shining all the time, always has, everywhere in the universe – the darkness cannot overcome it. However, I am sad to say that none of us sees that light as constantly as it shines. No, we don’t. And we are not able to, this side of paradise, which is what makes us human. But Isaiah tells us that Jesus can shine His Light into our lives, showing us the way, helping us conquer the darkness.

I imagine most people think of Jesus walking around metaphorically with a huge spotlight, shining it into all of our dirty little crevices. I have even heard it taught that way. That could be true at times, but I’ve been a Christian for about forty years now (not counting all those years at church memorizing Scripture when I thought I was a Christian), and “the Great Light” has rarely been a spotlight. It has seemed more like a faint dot of brightness from a lighthouse seen from a ship many miles out at sea, getting clearer only after a long, long time.

The Good News, the incredibly Good News, is that the Great Light--Christ’s light --is ALWAYS there. It never, ever dies away totally because, remember, the darkness cannot overcome it (John 1:5). So, try to search the darkness continuously – and wait. The tiniest of lights will eventually appear. Move toward it however you can. Rumi says, “If all you can do is crawl, start crawling.” Christ’s love will reach out and drag you along, most likely bringing others alongside of you to help. In less time than you might think, you will again be in the Great Light – not crawling, but dancing!

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When We Fail

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The Reluctant Prophet