Darkness without the son

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.”

John 8:12

It was the end of a beautiful day. We had just spent the last few hours visiting family out of town and now, we were just a few miles from home. The sun had long set and darkness filled the sky. Though the moon shone brightly, it plus the streetlights couldn’t illuminate the sky the way the sun had just a few hours earlier. “Look at those trees!” my son said. “They look so scary!”

“Scary?” I said. “Sweetie, those trees have been there for years. They aren’t any scarier now than they were this morning when we last saw them. The only difference is, it’s dark now. Without the sun, it does seem scarier.

Light is funny that way. The mere presence of it calms fears and eases stress. Wouldn’t you agree? I mean, things that go bump in the day don’t seem as ominous as those at night. Seldom do spooky stories start on a bright and sunny day. The basement, the space beneath the bed, the empty room at the end of the hall seem far less scary in the light. Light dispels darkness.

Life is hard. That is an understatement given the year we have had (which emotionally has felt like 3 years). But life would be harder if we walked in darkness, instead of light. As followers of Christ, we always have light with us even on our darkest days. That means that obstacles that seem insurmountable in the dark are possible in the light. Those problems that seem scary in the dark, are less frightening in the light. While the sun in the planet’s largest and most powerful light source, there is a source greater and even more powerful that it. God and his son, Jesus. With Him we will always have the comfort of knowing that even on our darkest days all we need is a ray of light to burst through to change everything. And so while the sun may illuminate the sky and brighten our day. We truly need the son to light our path. Because without the son, it does seem scarier.