Monday, May 28, 2007
2 Corinthians 4:6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
SPIRIT OF LIGHT
Some years ago I had the opportunity to go into a western South Dakota cave the way its original discoverers had -- with candles in tin cans. After about forty-five minutes of exploration, the tour leader had us all extinguish our candles. That was the first time I experienced truly total darkness. No matter how a person strained, you really could not see your hand in front of your face -- two inches in front of your face.
Deeper still is the spiritual darkness of the human heart by nature. Sin's darkness keeps us from seeing the hand of the Maker in creation, from seeing the difference between right and wrong, from truly seeing self or neighbor. And like any person born blind, we have trouble even imagining what we have never ever seen.
Thanks be to the God of all creation that He intervenes! In the beginning He spoke and, where there had been only darkness, there was light. So also in the darkness of the human heart, God the Holy Spirit speaks the word of Christ -- comes with the message of the substitutionary life and sacrificial death of Jesus -- and creates light in the darkness of the sin-shrouded human heart.
Through the same Gospel the Holy Spirit continues to give us light for darkness each time we are reassured that the forgiveness Christ died to secure is truly ours through simple faith in Him.
Holy Ghost, with light divine
Shine upon this heart of mine;
Chase the shades of night away,
Turn the darkness into day.
(The Lutheran Hymnal, 234:1)
