When I was a kid we played hide and seek outside in the dark. I discovered that I could hide in the shadows and not be seen, even when other kids galloped by close enough to grab. The dark was a lot of fun, and we ran around in it for hours. But I remember the pleasure of returning to the light, whether that of a campfire or a warm kitchen.

Outside of the beauty of nature, darkness holds little appeal these days. Too much darkness seeps through this world, infecting relationships and sickening minds. Fortunately, we know one source of unending light. John wrote, God is light; in him is no darkness at all. Paul tells us of God’s kingdom of light, and indeed that God dwells in unapproachable light.

Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light, trying to mimic the Lord and lead his faithful down shadowy paths. But the sham only carries so far, because the light of Jesus shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Jesus is the light of all mankind. No shadow exists black enough to overwhelm. No need for loss, no reason for fear. Far more powerful than the sun he created, the light of Jesus never goes out, never fades, never grows cold. His light blazes to the ends of the earth and to the culmination of time.

Wearied by the shadow world? Perhaps it’s time to look up, and return to the pleasures of the light.

1 John 1 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Ivan Rohovchenko