Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Sure, the candy, the costumes, the parties are nice but all the other stuff about Halloween doesn't sit well with a scaredy-cat like me! I'll pass the goblins and move along to the turkey and pumpkin pie, please.

As a kid one year when we were trick or treating, people hid in garbage cans along the streets and jumped out to scare us. Not cool, dude. I've NEVER been a fan of the dark, much less scary people jumping out at me. Life is scary enough, thank you very much. Haven't you read the news? 

Have you ever really wondered what it is about the dark that is so uncomfortable? 

For me, I don't like how the dark makes me lose focus on my path forward and not know what's coming against me. 

But what about figurative darkness in the world like this election year, Covid, social conflict? Doesn't this darkness also make our path forward unclear and cause us to feel defenseless?

"Another reason the darkness around us is so terrifying is that we see so much of ourselves in it - our weaknesses, our fears, our brokenness, our sin," writes Marshall Segal, "for many of us, no darkness is more intimidating than our own." 

BUT HERE'S THE GOOD NEWS: 

After Halloween comes Christmas. We switch from spooky darkness to enchanting twinkle lights. From celebrating dead to celebrating life.

John 1:4-5 "In him (Christ) was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

No matter the troubles we face here on Earth, we have the light of Christ. His light doesn't eliminate our problems but it illuminates our way out of them.

A nightlight soothes a child as she's falling asleep. Sunshine brings joy and life after a cold, dark winter. A lighthouse highlights danger and guides ships to shore. So too does the light of Christ bring peace, joy, life, protection, guidance, revelation, and hope. 

In the first chapter of the Bible God starts with creating light. In John 1:4 we learn that in the beginning was Jesus, the LIGHT of all mankind. And in the very last chapter of the Bible, Revelations 22:5 says "There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign forever and ever."

You see, Christ is the light that started it all, overcame it all, and outshines it all.

And fellow traveler, that light shines in you.

Shine bright friend.

https://www.desiringgod.org/.../god-is-not-afraid-of-the...