Father, May I? – Lights Out – May 23rd

Father, May I Be Light?
May 23, 2021

Lights Out

John 3:19-20, ‘”And here is the basis for their judgment: The Light of God has now come into the world, but the people loved the darkness more than the Light, because they want the darkness to conceal their evil. So the wicked hate the Light and try to hide from it, for the Light exposes fully their lives. But those who love the truth will come into the Light, for the Light will reveal that it was God Who produced their fruitful works.”’ (TPT)

It is not any surprise how much is hidden by darkness. Have you ever lost something and the first thing you did before going in search of what you lost was turn on the lights? We reach for flashlights and turn on the glare of our phone’s screen, wait for the light of the moon to crawl from behind a cloud or waltz out of the shadows to see an expression on our companion’s face. It is nearly impossible to find anything in the dark.

It also is very difficult to hide anything in broad daylight. As a kid, we waited for the dusk to set in for neighborhood ‘Hide-n-Seek’ parties and one watches movies in the dark. It’s time to leave when the lights come up, right, and we sleep during the night and are awake during the day. It might be presumptive for me to start that bars generally have their lights down low and there is nothing brighter than a Sunday morning church service. When I ran the bar I owned especially as a Christian I wanted the lights very dim and it was closing time when what we called ‘the ugly lights’ came on. I used to think about that a lot, wondered why I was uncomfortable to have the lights on in the bar I had, and I think I realized it was about me. Perhaps I didn’t want to be seen nor maybe even want to recognize myself, guessing I could stay in hiding if the lights were dimmed.

But Jesus is Light. He is the Light of the world, and He longs to shine His Light even through the brokenness of the vessels He came to repair. He brings those of us who have hidden behind dark deeds and in dark places into the light, and He exposes the darkness by His Light. It is true that dark cannot overcome Light, but once Light enters into a dark place, even the corners are brought out of the shadows. Light consumes the darkness; it eats the depths of duskiness. Those who love Jesus find comfort in His Light and in the brightness of the Son, while the enemy of our souls hides sin in the shadows and buries secrets in the dark. Those who do not understand the Light nor desire the Light find themselves comfortable and at home shrouded by night. The dark may conceal what the enemy wants hidden, but praise Jesus! The Light cancels out the night so the Son can shine again.

I want to know the Father’s opinion about everything!
Won’t you JOURNEY with me this month as we ask our Father, ‘MAY I?’’