“Now we have seen Christ is our
Savior, Redeemer, Deliverer, Leader, or Way. But He is more than all that: He
is our Light.”
~Dwight L. Moody (1837–1899)
It seems as we live our lives, we,
in our sinfulness, are duped into many forms of darkness. If it was good enough
for the apostle Paul—referring specifically to Romans chapter 7—it is good
enough for us. We are tested by many cloudy skies. When we are truthful,
darkness fills many of our days, or part thereof.
But in all our religiosity, in the
grandness of our spiritual spectre, there is a shadow of light we need to be
aware of. Not all light is Christ-Light. Sometimes we may ascend ourselves.
Sometimes we may go too far and be blinded by the light in our darkness.
Such naivety takes the Christ-Light
for granted. From this ‘tradition’ comes the false teacher.
So there are two problems. Where
there is both insufficient and excess Light. Both are of the devil. Our spiritual challenge is to
discern the Christ-Light from the darkness of the other two.
Where There Is Too Much Light
Too much light is a fabrication of
Satan and we are blinded by light in our darkness.
This is a problem of blindness to
the point of a certain self-righteousness. The naïve ascendant flatters
themselves in their outlook and capability. We may be too trusting, and, worst
of all, of ourselves. It does us no harm to distrust our own motives. The
reasons we do things are so often flawed. This is nothing to get down about,
apart from developing a common realism—we ought to be honest before God.
Probably a more prevalent problem
is the lack of Light
in our lives.
Where There Is Not Enough Light
Too little light is also the work
of Satan in this world, to dissuade us from viewing all matters in life, even
the dark bits, within the realm of plain Christ-Light. This is when there is no
denial of truth, but where the light of life is free to shine.
It is too easy to see ourselves as
dark figures in a dark world. Such an outlook shuts out the Christ-Light,
refusing the Holy Spirit’s access into our lives.
It is our role to be salt and
light in the world. We can only be so if we are fed from Christ’s Light itself.
May it be that we ruminate over God’s Word, pray, and sing spiritual songs and
hymns often, to remind us of the glorious possession we have!
***
Perspective is crucial in the
spiritual life. Two great threats are spiritual naivety and spiritual darkness.
When we make room for Christ’s Light we see more truthfully.
© 2012 S. J. Wickham.
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