Devotionals

 

Can I tell you about my trip to Mammoth Cave in Kentucky? I went with a group of friends in college many years ago, before diaper bags and children and the many responsibilities that life multiplied. The stairway down into the caves had been built with safety rails to help the less steady explorers (me). Those safety rails had been installed in several strategic places through out the long deep caverns. The worn paths were lit by electric lights strung along the rocky walls to illuminate the passages.  

We had walked some distance when we came to a large open area of the cavern. After a few moments of gazing, the tour guide invited us to sit on one of several rough wooden benches low enough to feel the cool dirt floor. She told us some history of the cave and its exploration, then cautioned us to remain seated during her demonstration of how the first people found the area. Slowly the electric lights dimmed and shut off one after the other from far down the cavern until the entire area was completely dark. 

The pitch black stillness seemed foreign and disorienting. If darkness was tangible, you could feel it here heavily pressing against you. Eyes were useless and only the feeling of the worn wooden benches and cold damp earth beneath you gave you a sense of orientation. It was quiet in a way that belied the group I knew sat around me. Every scary movie or imaginary monster I had ever thought of was surely creeping toward my bench.

That extreme darkness lasted only a few moments until the guide struck a match. It was a glorious golden light and gave us a sense of wonder as our eyes adjusted to it. The fire flickered on the cavern walls and transformed it into a place of magical colors and movement. Though the electric lights were quickly turned on along the length of the cavern and we continued the walking tour, that moment has stayed with me for many decades.  

It has been an illustration in my own life of how powerful just a little light is when it is struck in a dark place. As I used to teach the children in Sunday school, we must let our little lights shine wherever we go. However, recently it has had another meaning in my life. That small match was beautiful and showed so much splendor in that cavern, but it could not illuminate the shadowy details of my surroundings. It provided a glimpse of what lay around me, but it was not sufficient to fully define the worn walkway that wound on through the rock. It lasted for only a few minutes before burning out, incapable of illuminating the pathway as long as I needed to eventually walk out of the cave and into the blinding light of day. The fire of the match was beautiful that day, but it was the power flowing to the electric lights that gave me confidence to continue walking. 

Friend, we are creatures of the light. We crave sunlight and sunny days. We walk into a dark room and reach for the light switch. Strike a match in a cave and our eyes are transfixed by it. We want to see what is in front of us, where we are going, any obstacles or threats that might hinder or harm us. Our sense of sight is dependent on light hitting our eyes. Lacking light, we must go slowly feeling for each step before we take it.

It is true of our physical life, but we are more than bodies going through the motions of life. Life must be more than getting up and going to work so we can come home and pay bills. We yearn for meaning, for relevance in the time we are allotted on earth. We seek it out in so many ways, chasing pleasures and experiences, climbing the ladders of careers, always reaching for a new possession or relationship. We are like people in the dark lighting matches and trying to see the path we should take.

The Apostle Paul wrote that the god of this world has blinded the minds of those who do not believe lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ shine on them. Did you read that like it is written? There is a devil loose in the world and it serves his purposes for men and women to live in the dark, separated from the life of God. It isn’t that the devil hates us so much as he hates the God Who loves us and created us in His own image. So he blinds their minds, handing match after match for them to light. The ploy is to keep them busy reeling from one empty attempt to grasp and hold happiness to another, never giving pause to consider that God loves them.

But the gospel of Jesus Christ is good news! God loves us! God loves us so much that the cross was an acceptable price to pay so that we could be with Him eternally. Jesus is God the Son. He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, and demonstrated the heart and power of God the Father in all He did and said. When He died on the cross, He was an innocent Man paying the penalty for our sins. When He rose again on the third day, He was the victorious Savior able to secure our entrance into the kingdom of Heaven.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is no flickering candle or electric bulb whose power can be switched on and off. It is white hot, brilliant glory that has the power to illuminate every dark corner and bring clarity and definition to every situation in which we find ourselves. He is the Light of the world and invites us to come out of the darkness and walk with Him. (Jn 8:12) If you believe in Him, you can throw away your matches and pick up your Bible. He will lead and guide you every step of your journey.

 

Ready to pray?

Lord, 

We thank You for loving us like You do. You are glorious and so is Your Word. We ask for You to shine Your light into every corner and space in our lives. We want to walk in the light with You.