“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light, those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined” (Isaiah 9:2).
Light and Darkness
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How are we to understand the interplay between light and darkness? Is Jesus Christ truly and surely the light of the universe? Is His light temporary or permanent?
In order to understand Christ as the true light, first of all we need to grasp adequately the real nature and impact of darkness. When we know what darkness is all about, then only we can deeply fall in love with light.
Lover of Christ is a lover of light. Lover of darkness is a lover of devil.
One person’s sins darken the lives of other people. Sin is neither an isolated phenomenon nor a stagnant entity destroying only the life of the sinner. If sin is singular, at least we have nothing much to worry about. But by its very nature, sin is expansive like the universe is ever expanding.
The light of Christ exposed the darkness of sin once and for all. Though darkness still remains here and there, it is an exposed darkness. Although there are people who still remain in it, who do not want to get out of it, they have no future in it. They are doomed forever in it. Their fate is sealed as long as they are in it. The darkness will drown and swallow them up. As a result of so many cadavers, it will become all the darker.
Darkness may remain and even grow from time to time but it can never eradicate the light of Christ. Each of us has to become a bearer of His light. Each Christian ought to become a reflection of His light in pitch darkness. The thicker the darkness, the brighter the glow of light.
In a mysterious way then, darkness has been at the service of light. Shall we say that darkness has prepared the proper milieu for the advent of light?
Mystery of life
Those who are still trapped in darkness can now come out of it. The true light has been eagerly waiting for them. To refuse the light is to refuse life. To embrace the light is to embrace life in its fullness.
Our heart’s deepest desire is to search for the true light and only by searching for it, can we really find it.
Our sinful acts imprison us in dark devilish dungeons. Only when we begin to recognize, realize and repent our miserable situation, we again begin to restlessly long and yearn for the true light. Light’s eternal search for us has prompted our desiring for it. Searching for light helps the light to find us out. Even our search for light is grace from light. All is pure grace. Nothing lies beyond grace. The one who finds light has taken full advantage of grace.
All is from Him to all. Everything is from Him to everybody. Nothing is received by us, had he granted nothing. Nothing can be given us, had He given us nothing.
Once in light, all our acts become acts of love. In His light, the fire in our heart burns all the more. Incarnation is the indwelling of light permanently in our midst and hence our daily lives must reflect the delight of that light.
Indeed, the true light that enlightens every man and woman is coming into the world and we must not forget the fact that he had demanded that we become the light of the world.
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16).
Had He not come?
Becoming that light from all sides is the real delight of Yule tide. When we have a sight of his light, our living becomes again a delight.
His light is the source of all other lights and truths. Our task is to spread His light wherever we are and will be. Since He is the light of the whole world, whosoever walks in his light shall never stumble in darkness.
Had he not come amongst us, our world will still be in total darkness. Had he not come at all, we will not even be aware that we were in total darkness.
Inner awareness is a work of his grace and the first step towards enlightenment. The one who has been awoken by His light never ever wants to go back to former darkness. Once His light becomes one’s inner sight, there is no going back to where one was at one time in one’s life.
Christ becomes everything to everybody once you begin to live in him. Not to live in Him is not to live at all. Life in Christ is the life par excellence.
His light is our life and His life is our light. In order to love, we need His light. People who dwell in darkness cannot love truly for God cannot dwell in people who dwell in darkness. Only those who live in His light can truly love. We will be able to love because we have been enlightened by His light.
His light shows us the right road. His light dispels all our dark nights. He is the Knight with true light. His light is our real might.
The one who dares to fight with dark nights needs His bright light again and again. All the knights of Christ always need His light. Our life here on earth is a long warfare against the dark nights. Only Knights of Christ can defeat all dark knights.
In order to fight, we need the might of His light. Every knight of Christ is a bearer of His light.
Once we dwell deeply in his light, everything and every day will be all right. To live in His light is to live within His sight. Only His light can highlight our spiritual heights and put things right.
