Living in the Light of Christ
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” – John 1:1-5
The word "Lent" means lengthening. During the Lenten season the days are getting longer – there is more light. So, for us Lent is a time to move toward the source of all light, Jesus.
Martin Luther once spent three days in a dark depression over something that had gone wrong. On the third day his wife came downstairs dressed in mourning clothes.
"Who's dead?" he asked her.
"God," she replied.
Luther rebuked her, saying, "What do you mean, God is dead? God is not dead!”
"Well," she replied, "the way you've been acting I was sure He had died!" (told by Ray C. Stedman in The Incredible Hope).
Church, sometimes we modern Christians fall into the same trap. We get stuck in the darkness and despair of abandonment, betrayal, and abuse. We get stuck on Good Friday. We get stuck there until we become uncomfortably comfortable there. We forget that yes, Jesus died, but he is alive again. The forces of sin, darkness and despair are defeated! Jesus went through a dark time, but he did not stay there. And neither should we. Because He lives, we can live also.
Rev. Will Wells, College Grove UMC
