SEARCHING IN THE DARK
I’m telling you up front; I’m going to talk about Jesus.I hate when people try to sneak Jesus into things. If there is anything Jesus was not it is manipulative. He was always straight forward with his message.
We had an awesome event with our church the other night. About 250 children searched for 7,000 candy and prize filled eggs in the dark. The picture above shows a section of the field lit up with children’s flashlights. The kids had a blast. They went home exhausted but happy because they had found what they were looking for.
When it is really dark, things that could easily be seen with some light are hidden from us. When the sun was shining, everywhere you looked there were eggs in plain sight. However, once it was dark, no one would have known to look in the field for those eggs without being told. They were simply hidden by the lack of light.
Without going into “church speak” or heavy theological discussion, I purpose that in many ways we are all searching in the dark. We are all looking for a purpose of sorts or an answer to the questions of why we are here.
Life can be dark. It can be hard to see how there could possibly be a God in the midst of our lives that wants to be near us. The Bible refers to Jesus as the light of the world. Searching in the dark becomes much easier when we have a light. That is the message of the Bible. It is not a list of dos and don’ts. It is not a book of senseless stories for those who lack reason or analytical skills. It is the story of how the God of the universe sent us a light so that we could find him. He still makes it our choice though. We can chose whether or not to accept the light.
As you search to answer the big questions in life. I encourage you to at least explore the light.
In your search you may find those who promote misguided, damaging, and flawed perspectives on who Jesus is and what that means for our lives, that does not mean there is no truth or no reason in faith. It just means that some people are still searching.
As Timothy Keller says in The Reason For God: Belief in the Age of Skepticism, “Think of people you consider fanatical. They’re overbearing, self-righteous, opinionated, insensitive, and harsh. Why? It’s not because they are too Christian, it’s because they are not Christian enough. They are fanatically zealous and courageous, but they are not fanatically humble, sensitive, loving, emphatic, forgiving, or understanding- as Christ was… What strikes us as overly fanatical is actually a failure to be fully committed to Christ and his gospel.”
My hope is that you can make your decision based on your own encounter with the light. If you are looking for a place to begin your search, I recommend you read the books of John and Romans in the Bible, visit a local church, or find an Alpha Course.
John 1:1-5 (NLT)
1 In the beginning the Word already existed.
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
2 He existed in the beginning with God.
3 God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him.
4 The Word gave life to everything that was created,
and his life brought light to everyone.
5 The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it.
So good. Really, really good. The kind of good that stays with you and makes you feel nourished. Keep writing!!