In the Dark

Most of us can comfortably find our way around our homes when the lights are out. We know where the furniture is located, where the open doorways are, and how to get from one room to another. If you rearrange the furniture it changes our comfortability level until we can get adjusted to where things are again. There's something to be said about becoming familiar with the layout of things in the dark.

The principles of light and darkness carry strong spiritual implications. Light represents what is good and pure while darkness represents sin and impurity. Admitting an understanding of the power of light doesn't negate what is done in the dark if we continue to stay hidden. In fact, it's easier to hide what we are doing when we wait for the cover of darkness. While we might be unsure of our footing at first, we quickly adjust and become more comfortable even though we should seek out light.

Shining a bright light into dark areas illuminates unhealthy, sinful behavior. We are the ones who have to decide to not become too comfortable in the dark. If we aren't careful we'll begin to know our way around far too well and find ourselves at home where we shouldn't. Light will overpower darkness, but we have to choose to let the light in.

Bright Light

I have never been a fan of big, overhead lights. I prefer to use strategically placed lamps instead of a

light that fills the room. My office at Mainland was referred to as "The Cave" due to its dark wood paneling (hello 1970's construction) and the dim light source from three lamps. My subsequent church offices very rarely had the overhead lights on, but instead relied on natural light and other smaller sources. 

While my desire for limited light is a personal physical environment preference, it can be much more dangerous when it spills over into my spiritual life. Here the danger is found in what the darkness is hiding. It's easy for us to keep things in the dark corners of our life that we don't want anyone else to see. It's a reflection of hidden sin--the things we're afraid someone will find out, the behaviors and decisions that cause us shame, and the parts of who we are that we simply don't want to address. As long as we keep those parts secluded from the rest of our life, we can operate as if nothing is wrong. Dimly lit rooms hide dirt in their corners--illuminating them reveals the need for cleansing and starts the hard work of making it right again. Once this process is started it's much easier to keep the lights on to help us make sure they don't get that dirty again. Our eyes need to adjust once we walk from darkness into light, but once they do we are able to see more clearly. It might be difficult, but it's the only way to live that honors God.

For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” (John 3:20-21 ESV)

Light It Up

Have you ever spilled something in the dark? It seems to run away from you quickly and spread rapidly before hitting the floor and creating a bigger mess. You have to move quickly to turn on the lights and get things cleaned up, or your cleaning efforts won't be very effective.

In Luke 18, Jesus tells a story of two different (but messy) men--one who stands proudly and proclaims how good he is, and the other who stood at a distance and declared his desperate need for God. The self-righteous man made sure to bring into the light only those parts of himself he wants God & others to see-his virtue, his fidelity, his generosity. The genuinely repentant man hid nothing from the burning light of God and God provided mercy beyond belief. 

Jesus' story stresses our own need for transparency, confession, and stepping into the light of God's truth. Without this step of humbly revealing authenticity, we're only praying for our own sake and not transformation. It proves that even spiritually you can't clean up a mess in the dark-you only make a bigger mess.