In the winter when we have really long nights, the darkness weighs heavily on me.
John, one of the Biblical authors, writes a prologue where he talks about light and dark. But he’s not talking about the darkness of night. He’s talking about something worse: spiritual darkness. He says this darkness is a predator that wants to kill and consume us. Darkness confuses us so we don’t really know right and wrong anymore. We think we do, but actually we’re just justifying ourselves and making up new moral laws that are convenient for us.
The Darkness and the Light
John’s prologue says that in Jesus there was life and that life was the light of humanity. Living in darkness is like a taste of death. If there’s no intervention, then that death will last forever. Darkness and death also represent exile from God’s presence. When we are in the darkness, it’s like we’ve been cast out of the presence of God that brings us life and helps us see the world we live in and what we were created for more clearly.
So, what can we do? Can we just make light appear? In the beginning, the Bible says the earth was formless and void (Genesis chapter 1), and darkness was over the face of the deep. And then God spoke and he said, “Let there be light.” What is impossible for us is simple for God. Jesus humbled himself to come down into our spiritual darkness, live among us, and die on the cross, but his light is unquenchable and his life is immortal. Jesus overcomes darkness.
Jesus’s light exposes sin and whatever we confess to him is burnt up and destroyed. Whoever knows Jesus and believes in him receives that light as life. Anyone who rejects Jesus and prefers the darkness will receive that light like a burning fire.
What to do next
In light of this, here’s two things I want to encourage you to do.
Firstly, believe in Jesus. Don’t just try and make yourself believe. Research the life and resurrection of Jesus. Watch some videos or read some books that try to persuade you, because Christianity does have good reasons to believe. Jesus says, “Ask and it will be given. Seek and you’ll find. Knock and the door will be opened.” If you’re longing for salvation, pray and ask Jesus to give you belief.
Jesus promises to give salvation to people who are longing for it.
Secondly, I encourage you to confess. Agree with God that sin is not good and you need forgiveness. The Bible encourages us to confess to one another as well about the darkness in our hearts and the things we’ve done that we regret. When I tell someone something and they reassure me of God’s forgiveness, I feel a load lifted off my shoulders.
To live the life we were created for, to receive the benefits of Jesus and the light that he brings, we need to believe in him. It’s incredible to live in the light.
