Darkness pressed down like a heavy coat, swallowing everyone in the cave.
For one minute we stood in complete darkness and silence. Even though my husband was standing right beside me, within seconds the first fearful thought popped into my head. I am alone.
Then scenes from every murder-mystery I’d ever seen or read came to mind. I thought about the other people on the tour. Who are these people? I don’t even know them. I tightened my grip on my backpack straps and distrust rose in my heart.
Thankfully the minute passed, our tour guides turned their lanterns back on, everyone laughted and breathed a sigh of relief, and we went on with the 14 mile tour of Mammoth Cave.
It took less than a minute for fear to surface when I was standing in literal darkness. Do the same fears surface in any type of darkness?
The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine. (Isaiah 9:2)
If I had tried to walk around in the darkness of the cave, I would have bumped into people, fallen, possibly gotten too hurt to keep going. What about the people all around us who are walking in figurative darkness? They are looking for fulfilment, purpose, peace, and happiness without any light.
And here we have the best news. Light shines in the darkness.
Light broke through deepest darkness when God put on flesh and stepped into our world. He came as a tiny light, wrapped in the most vulnerable package.
He came in a way that we could receive Him.
If He had come in any way similar to God’s Presence on Mount Sinai, we might have turned away in fear. In Exodus, the people were told to get ready, get clean, and not to touch the mountain or they would die.
But Jesus came on a dark night, in a dirty stable, and only a few knew the Light had come.
He grew, He built relationships, He spoke truth in love.
He came to show us what God is like, how deeply He loves us, and how we can follow Him.
He came speaking our language.
The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. As the Word, He brought thoughts from the innermost recesses of people’s hearts out into the light.
He was gentle with those who were struggling, patient with those who didn’t even know they needed Him until He spoke to them .He challenged those who thought they had God all figured out.
Jesus saw people living in the dark and it moved him. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. (Matthew 9:36)
Maybe they were tossed around by fear, suspicion, and distrust. Maybe they were seeking fulfilment, purpose, and peace in things that could never deliver. Maybe they felt trapped, like they would never be free from the darkness.
And He told them Whoever follows me will have the light of life. (John 8:12)
The light of life He offers shines brighter than a tour guide’s lantern, and points us to the answer our hearts were made to search for – One who loves us beyond all measure.
