some days are like this, you know .
some days there is breathtaking light, like that first time we
watched the sun rise . it was a brilliant burst of color, so beautiful it took
our breaths away . darkness gave way to light through shades of pink, orange,
and blue . it was like watercolored streaks, as if He couldn't choose which
color would usher in the sun that morning . the gray havens have said it best :
" which color do you choose to paint the sky ? blue was the one that won,
but he shares it with the others in the evening and dawn . "
and last weekend, we watched the sun rise again . while it was
still dark and quiet, we snuck up the mountain and found a new spot . we braved
the chill to enjoy the quiet and peaceful morning from outside the car on a
rock at the top of the mountain .
but this second sunrise was different . darkness slowly gave way
to light, not in a great burst of color and sun rays but in a slow and gradual
change . each moment got brighter and brighter in its own quiet way . there
was no show, no magnificent display of color or brilliance . it was simply
another morning, another day beginning .
and i saw it this sunday morning . i heard it when he was
explaining the song that we're teaching to the kids:
either way, light always wins .
get this kids : light . always . wins .
whether it's a flashlight piercing through thick darkness or the
flip of a light switch, light always wins . darkness turns into a sunrise -
full of brilliant bursts of color or a slow quiet change, but either way, light
always wins . there has never been a morning when darkness refuses to submit to
the light - the light is so much stronger .
and the significance of this ?
it's in the song we're teaching :
" in our longing, in our darkness
now the Light of life has come
look to Christ who condescended
took on flesh to ransom us . "
in my darkness, this pitch black filthiness of my soul, the Light
has come . " in Him was life, and the life was the light of men . the
Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it . " [
John 1:3-4 ] Christ has pierced through and He has ransomed me . He came down
and turned my darkness into beautiful light . this is the gospel - that He who
was God condescended and came down into the world, full of so much sin and
darkness . the Light came down into the middle of the darkness in order to
break the power of the darkness forever .
but the thing is ? the thing is that sometimes, too many times, i
am still in darkness . sometimes, i choose to stay in darkness . when everything about my
future seems unsteady, certain to fall apart and crumble at any moment, i
choose to be blind to the Light and stay in my darkness . i look down, look
inward, close my eyes to the beauty around me - i look anywhere but to the
Light .
i'm here, looking at my past, and what i see is failure . darkness
. i see mistakes and regrets like big dark spots, staining memories . and then
i'm here, looking at my future, and all i see is uncertainty . i see big dark mountains and big decisions and paths to choose and paths to follow . i'm
overwhelmed, and i'm afraid that the darkness will keep following me . i'm
afraid that i won't be able to shake it off .
but that's the point : darkness will stay until the light
comes . i can't shake off darkness by sheer willpower, i can't reason it
away . the light has to come in and chase it away . the light has to
defeat it -- and it always, always, does .
"the True Light, which gives light to everyone, has come
into the world . "
the Light has come . the Light has chased away darkness where
fear and uncertainty and doubt live . the Light has come and has made
everything new and is shining brightly, exposing beauty and erasing fears .
sometimes, the light comes in an epiphany, in a moment of
awakening, in a brilliant burst of color and light . it's bright in those moments at camp when you see hope-girl's eyes opened and you see the light shine in
and she understands that she needs Jesus . she takes that wood chip and she throws
it and she explains justification in a beautiful way . the light is radiating
from her and it's beautiful .
but sometimes, more and more often, the light comes quietly . the
darkness slowly gives way to light and you don't even notice the light's there
until you look back and see how far out of the darkness He's brought you . you
have had doubts and fears for as long as you can remember, until one day you
wake up and see the light and realize that they're not there . that they
haven't been there for a while . in fact, you can't even remember when they
left . they were just chased out quietly, overcome by light .
it's the story of my days : light always wins . darkness,
no matter how dark and thick and long, always submits to light . in a brilliant
moment or in a quiet fading, the darkness of grief always gives way to the
light of hope . the darkness of uncertainty always gives way to the light of
grace . the darkness of my sin always, always gives way to the Light of the
world .
it's the story of my days, and we'll watch the sunrise until we
have no more breath and no more sight, because we want to remember this and
never forget : Light always wins .
