“Light in the Darkness”

by Ryan Duncan, TheFish.com Editor, crosswalk.org

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Have you ever been in complete darkness? I don’t mean this figuratively, I mean physically. Have you ever walked in a place where there was absolutely no light? I have, and it’s an experience I’ll never forget. When I was in high school, my family went on a vacation to Mammoth Cave National Park.

Mammoth Cave, for those of you who don’t know, is the longest known system of caves in the world and the park, which itself is no small place, covers only a small portion of it. My family arrived at the park early in the morning and quickly joined the group of people who had come for a guided tour of the cave. As we slowly descended underground, our guide pointed out interesting rock formations, different types of minerals, and the occasional historical tidbit about Mammoth Cave. It was all very interesting, but the biggest moment on the tour was when the guide led us into a large cavern and asked everyone to take a seat.

“In a moment we’re going to turn off the lights,” he explained cheerfully, “That way you can get an idea of what it was like for people to explore the cave in the early days.” As soon as the lights went out, everything was pitch black. I held my hand to my face but couldn’t see a thing. Over thirty people were on the tour, but had they not entered the cave with me, I might have thought I was alone. It was complete darkness. Then our guide struck a match, and that little flame illuminated the entire cavern.

“Amazing, isn’t it?” our guide chuckled, “Bet you never thought a single match could light up a whole cave.” He doesn’t know the half of it. The Bible has a lot to say about light and darkness. To quote the book of John,

“This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.” – John 3:19-21    

In many ways, our world is as dark as the caverns of Mammoth Cave. It can leave us lost, confused, and unsure of the things around us. But just as our world resemble the cave, so do Jesus words resemble the little match struck in the darkness. The light may be small, and we still may stumble in the darkness, but if we let it, that tiny light can illuminate even the darkest corners of our world. So take a moment and ask yourself, do you have the light of Christ in your life?