It's Time to Review What We Know
Dr. King said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.”
Jesus said, “You are the light of the world.”
If Dr. King was right, and if Jesus was correct, then we who are Believers are the key to enlightening a dark culture.
Jesus’ statement in Matthew’s Gospel is embedded in a series of metaphors that are as important as ever:
You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.
You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
Dark days follow dark days. I’m astounded that we are tolerating the things we are absorbing into American life. It’s as though we can’t help shooting ourselves in the foot. There are glimmers of hope here and there, but the gut sense is that our dark days are not over.
Dr. King was celebrated at the beginning of this week for good reason. He was correct about light being the antidote to darkness. It’s a magnificent statement. But it begs a pleading question.
Where exactly is this necessary, essential light going to come from?
Jesus named the source: “You are the light of the world.” You are like “a city set on a hill [that] cannot be hidden.” Therefore, “Let your light shine.”
But we, the Body of Christ, have made a serious mistake: We have gathered our light inside the church building, cloistered ourselves within our holy huddles, aligned ourselves within our home groups, and invest our light among ourselves. A bit of light seeps out through the stained glass, but in practice, we have placed our light under a metaphorical basket, the unthinkable practice Jesus referenced.
What do we need to know in order to be the light Jesus attributed to us, and that Dr. King implored, in order to resolve the darkness?
It is one thing to say, “Quit hiding inside your holy huddle, underneath the church basket, and head out into the darkness,” and quite another to execute and go outside into a dark place.
We sit through evangelism courses and read books about intersecting a dying world. Yet, as a group, we fail to go and this failure shows in a darkening culture. I have a hard time believing that we lack knowledge.
My sense is that we lack confidence to underlie the courage necessary to enter dark places.
In my experience and observation, the church can be a cruel and intolerant place for those operating outside our inbred culture. Just as Jesus was castigated by the status quo for spending time with sinners, the same is often true for Believers who engage with outsiders. And the truth of the matter is, engaging with outsiders can be trying, disillusioning, even unpleasant.
Yes, light penetrates darkness, but when humanized and directed to say, “You are a person of light. Go into dark places,” that’s uncomfortable to actually do. It takes courage to be light in dark places.
What resource do you, a committed follower of Jesus Christ, possess that is a sufficient anchor to secure your soul solidly enough that you can confidently and courageously “go into all the world?”
I could name several things, but let’s edit the list down to three things, three attributes that are true of you as a Believer: You are secure. You are safe. You are sanctified.
To be sanctified means that you are set apart, declared holy, and righteous. God did this to you by means of Jesus Christ’s actions on your behalf.
The Bible speaks of you being the place where God lives. Bluntly, God doesn’t live where there is unholiness.
In order to take up residence within you, God had to remake and reorder you into a holy place, a sanctified person. There is nothing you can do to make yourself more holy or less holy than you are right this moment. Your holiness is not based upon your ability to perform but upon God’s declaration.
Therefore, going into the dark world as light is not a risky behavior. You are not going to be tarnished. You are not going to be diminished. You are equipped to go, free to fail, and resolute in God’s declaration about you.
Safe.
God’s got you. You are His and He is yours.
Remember not only who you are, but where you are. John notes that you are in Christ, Christ is in you, and He is in God the Father. For anything to get to you, it must pass through God and through Jesus in order to reach you—and when it does reach you, it finds you filled with Jesus. You are safe.
But let’s be certain we understand God’s definition of safe versus the one we attempt to create when we lock our doors at night. For Believers in Jesus Christ, to be safe does not mean that no harm befalls us.
There were more martyrs for the Christian faith in the twentieth century than all other centuries combined. Many of the people I worked with in the former East Bloc had been tortured for their faith. Being safe in Jesus does not mean you will not suffer hardship. It means your soul is endowed with all the spiritual resource necessary to live a godly life in a dark and fallen place. In this sense, you are safe.
You belong to God. He holds you. He bought you with the blood of Jesus Christ. He transformed you and made you a new and living person whom He lives within. Nothing can separate you from Him, not high ideals or low dealing; not forces of darkness nor those who harm your body and take aim at your soul. You are secure.
Note the common denominator of each of these three qualities: Each is God’s initiative, doing, and managing. As a secure individual, safe in the arms of God, and made holy, you are now equipped to engage, to go, and to be light in dark places.
Sure, enjoy your Christian enclave. Share your burdens. Pray together. But go. The world is waiting.
One final thought: The manner in which you are light in a dark world, the personality with which you represent Jesus Christ, is the manner and personality unique to you across the broad spectrum of your life.
I had a friend who could ask a person on the elevator if they knew Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. It was the way my friend rolled and it worked for her. If I tried that, it would be contrived. I have another friend, the consummate extrovert, who talks to everyone in the restaurant on the way to his table. I’m the consummate introvert. I nod if I catch someone’s eye.
Be true to the personality God has given you while applying the final exhortation of Jesus: “Go! Go into all the world. You are light and the world is dark. Go. Go into all the world, all the nooks and crannies, all the dark places where blinded people long to see. You are equipped for this. You are sanctified, safe, and secure. Now, keep your wits about you and go.”