For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of the light. ~Ephesians 5:8
Once upon a time, a little less than twenty years ago, I was a part of a Christian group on our college campus. We went on a fall retreat. Every year in the middle of October, we loaded up cars full of students and their stuff and went to a place called Storybook Lodge. It was magical. Every building was built to look like something from a fairy tale: all the girls slept in a giant pumpkin (from Cinderella), our small group met in a giant shoe (“There was an old woman who lived in a shoe…”), and so forth. To add to the magic, the air in northern Minnesota in October is extra crispy: just enough to send a chill down your back (or, now that I live in Texas, make me run for my coat) and always threatening of snow.
But one part of those magical fall retreats always bothered me: the dark.
I am a city girl. Or at least a suburb girl. Being alone in the pitch black of night terrifies me. The stars are great and all, but I want to see what I’m stepping on.
It was during that period of my life that I found this verse. I took it literally: at one time I was in the darkness, but now I’m in God’s light.
I used that as my excuse to always carry a flashlight. These days everyone has a flashlight on their smart phones, but there really was adventure in trying to navigate the woods after dark with nothing but a flashlight and some friends.
While I used this to justify needing some light, the Bible actually intends it to be interpreted metaphorically. The contrast between light and dark is used throughout the Bible. Who used to walk in darkness? We ALL did. And who now walks in the light? Anyone who believes in Jesus Christ.
Like a flashlight, God’s word is always illuminating more and more of ourselves as God slowly morphs us into who He wants us to be. On that same same fall retreat, the worship team sang as a song by Ginny Owens with the line, “I’m clinging to the promise You’re not through with me yet.”
God’s going to shine His light on you. Trust Him, because while it’s never easy to have the light shine when you’ve never experienced it before, He is a loving Father and will carry you through. You’re no longer in the darkness. Now walk in that truth!
Dixie Dewey says
Amen, loved this