Arise, Shine: Out Of The Darkness

But then, in Christ, God broke the silence and entered our darkness. This Jesus, the Word made flesh; the Light of the world exchanged the radiant glory of heaven for a warm, dark womb. Grew up in a town viewed in a negative light. He hung out with shady figures—even calling them out by name to follow Him. He was captured and accused in the night. On the cross, the Son was shining, but the sun was dimmed. The crowd shouted and roared. “He trusts in God; let God deliver him now,” they said. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me,” Jesus cried out. But it appeared as though God was silent as He hung there. Until He said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

“Father, forgive them…” In Christ, God broke the silence once and for all. In Christ, He called out to you and me out of our darkness. Because that’s what He was doing. “Father, forgive them…” You are included in the “them.” And in that light, we realize it can be a bittersweet thing to be called out of the darkness, sometimes. Bitter, because of what He gave up for you and me. Bitter, because His death was undeserved. Bitter because He took our place, receiving God’s wrath. It’s bitter, because we know that death scene soon went quiet; and the body placed in a cold dark tomb.

Yet it is so, so sweet—because we know it was a job no one else could do. It was sweet because “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,” because of Jesus’ resurrection. Sweet because in Jesus’ death and resurrection, God was displaying the greatest show of love He could give. Sweet because in Christ, God the Father draws us to Himself, holding us tight, speaking to us, letting us know He’s here, and will never leave us or forsake us.

Our temptation is to find our identity in the darkness. Our temptation is to resort back to the old life we once had before Christ. Our temptation is to carry our guilt, our shame, our sins of the past with us—like shadows following us. But, in Baptism, He has called us out of darkness! Your identity is now in Christ; you are a child of the Light and of the Day. No matter where we’ve been, He is calling us in love and forgiveness. Leave the past behind, live as a forgiven child of the Light, because God has called you out of the darkness by name, and He has a job for you—to be His spokesperson. In your home, in your community, in our nation, and around the world.

How do we walk as children of the Light? We get into the Word. I mentioned how it’d be nice if only God spoke to us today like He did to Samuel. I also talked about how “the Word of the Lord was rare” in Samuel’s time. But I pointed out that God’s written Word was still there. So I wonder: is the Word of the Lord “rare” in our lives? Because I have news for you—God IS still speaking today. God is not silent. He continues to speak through the pages of Scripture. He speaks to us here in worship. He speaks to us in devotions and Bible studies. God speaks to us through the fellowship of believers—even when it comes to those times we have to share a difficult word with someone we love. It’s not a matter of God not speaking to us, giving direction…it’s a matter of whether we’re listening or not. And when we’re not listening, that’s when the darkness creeps back in.