My wife Grace and I recently joined our extended family on a road trip to Arizona and New Mexico. On the first leg of the trip, we left for Arizona about 5:00 on a Thursday morning. As we sleepily travelled south along the I-5 freeway I noticed a dark-cloud formation as the sun began to rise. What caught my attention was how the sun’s rays striking the dark clouds from behind created a scene of majestic beauty.
I began to consider how the light made even the darkness a thing of beauty. And the scene before me led me to think about human experiences that are often described as dark moments. Indeed, when we go through a season of darkness in our life or ministry, we can turn to the Lord’s assurances in his Word. And when we allow the Lord to shine his light on our darkness, even that darkness can become a thing of beauty! With the Lord’s presence in the darkness, we will be okay. And the voice of the Lord can echo inside of us, “You’ll be alright. You’ll be alright.”
In recounting the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry, the gospel of Matthew quotes the prophet Isaiah: “the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned” (Matthew 4.16 NIV).
Referring to Jesus, the gospel of John declares: “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1.4–5 NIV). And because the darkness cannot overcome the light, we need not fear when the Lord who is our Shepherd leads us through the “darkest valley” which is along the “right paths” (Psalm 23.3-4).
It is through the darkness that the light of Christ is best observed. It is in the moments of absolute dependence on him that his trustworthiness shines brightest. It is when we are weak that the strength of Christ is most evident.
Only Jesus Christ is the one who could transform the cross, an intense symbol of deathly darkness, into a sublime symbol of life-giving light by Christ. Beauty through the darkness!
And so, we can bear witness to God’s transforming work. “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ” (2 Corinthians 4.6 NIV).
—Keith Jainga