In the Darkness, Light!

 

	“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.”
	—Isaiah 9:2

The dresser’s edge just seemed to appear out of nowhere and my toe felt it! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!

You’ve probably experienced the same surprise in the dark. Even with our eyes “adjusted” for the darkness, objects emerge we forgot were there. Yet, this verse speaks of people walking in darkness, and others who live in the land of the shadow of death. Seemingly, they have never truly seen illumination, and they walk with the handicap of blindness.

Speaking of “walking in darkness,” some creatures can effectively see in the dark:

“…nocturnal animals, masters at this, have sacrificed visual acuity in order to hunt at night. They must get by with somewhat fuzzy, unfocused images. Only by greatly exaggerating the size of their eyes (and therefore the retinal image), can dark-adapted animals develop reasonable resolution to their images. They see mostly crude shapes, outlines and no color, but it is enough for them to hunt, feed and survive in the dark of night.” ¹

I think people become so comfortable in the darkness, too, that they learn to modify their lives to accommodate it. Their lives have a fuzzy, unfocused image of what God wants for them. They may be able to feed and survive, but they walk about seeing mostly crude shapes with no color. This kind of darkness has become normal for them.

When the Lord spoke to Isaiah almost 700 years before the birth of Christ, He saw His people in this condition. He foretold the Incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Light of the World, and in so doing Isaiah gave the answer to the blinded condition of the sinful people of Earth. When Jesus came, His Light dawned on anyone who wanted new eyes to see.

Since the first sin in the Garden of Eden, this darkness has fallen on us all. And now, as individuals who stumble around with vulnerable spiritual toes, we can turn from darknes and receive the Light of the World in our lives to turn on the clarity we need to walk well, see the colorful insights God wants to give us, and to reflect His Light for others.

Do you know a situation so dark that nothing can illuminate it, or a heart that seems dark and hopeless? Go toward the Light of the World. Ask Him to reveal Himself to you, and bask in the Light He gives—through His Word, through His church, through His people. Rejoice this Christmas in the gift of Light given in the Babe of the manger.

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1 from an on-line article courtesy of BioMEDIA ASSOCIATES, LLC: “How Do Animals See in the Dark?” by Molly Kirk and David Denning. http://www.eBioMEDIA.com. Copyright © All Rights Reserved.