One of the greatest gifts to the human being is light be it a natural light or an invented light. Light has this powerful nature to expose the darkness and to expose the hidden things. It gives clarity for us to function, as man cannot effectively function in darkness. Just imagine if a group of people in a dark room are given an activity to do. What would be the general outcome? First and foremost, the people in the dark room will face hopelessness; they might not be able to function effectively. But what if the light was turned on? There arises hope and there exists peace, they start to function the way they should to finish the task. Darkness means different things to different people; darkness in physical terms is the absence of physical light but in actual terms it is something which takes away the faith, peace, hope, love and life in human hearts.
The Bible depicts the happenings around the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in Mark 15:33-34 saying, “At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” (Which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”)” The world is filled with darkness in many forms. There are many proofs that the world is filled with darkness and people are living without true faith, true hope, true love and ultimately true peace. People are trying to find solution to fix the problems, but they seldom realize that the answer lies with God who created us.
Jesus Christ, the Son of God came in to this world to give the light that mankind is yearning for. The spiritual darkness came in to this world through the disobedience of human being, and it’s termed as sin. But our sin didn’t stop God from loving us. His love was so huge for us that He gave His only Son to deliver us from sin and darkness. The Bible says in Luke 1:78, 79 “because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in the darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into path of peace”.
God gave everything to save us from the darkness; He gave His only Son Jesus Christ to bring light in darkness. This can be seen in John 8:12 “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Faithfully following Jesus Christ – the true light, removes darkness from our lives and also from the world. He took the punishment for the sins we committed and died on the cross to deliver us from the clutches of darkness and to lead us in to the pure and glorious light. He absorbed all the sins of the world, and the darkness along with it at the cross of Calvary, that He even had to deny himself. The embodiment of God’s glory, love, authority, justice, peace and purity was separated from his very being to show us the love and mercy we never deserved. The only goal for all His suffering is to deliver us from the darkness we are in and give us peace. He was forsaken, humiliated, insulted and rejected so that we will have life. The darkness surrounded him so that we can be surrounded by the light. God forsook him (Jesus) so that God would accept us through Him in our total unworthiness.
May be you are such person who is living in the darkness and have lost all hope, love, faith and peace. Today, God is calling you near to the cross where Jesus gave His life for you. He lovingly calls you so that by his touch the darkness surrounding you will be removed to give you the light that Jesus alone can offer.
Firm Foundations 