D A R K N E S S & L I G H T S

A Stark Contrast

The darkness of his country’s racist government and culture not only didn’t overwhelm Mandela’s passion for justice; it only seemed to make it shine even brighter.

But where the contrast isn’t as obvious, even the Brightest of

Lights will seem less bright than it actually is.

Matthew 4:16 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.”

Luke1:67 His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:

68 “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them.

69 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David

70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),71 salvation from our enemies

and from the hand of all who hate us—72 to show mercy to our ancestors

and to remember his holy covenant,73 the oath he swore to our father Abraham:74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear

75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

Jewish people enjoyed many aspects of their lives.

But they knew that the Lord had yet to fulfill all his promises to them.

They longed for a Messiah to bring light into their dark existence.

It’s not like our lives lack darkness.

loneliness

despair

failure

defeat

struggles

rejection

sorrow

poverty

injustice

evil

death

disaster

We frequently fail to appreciate the Gift of Life and Light that Jesus is because…

We habitually avoid facing and embracing:our DARK areas

our EMPTY partsour MORTAL selves

John 12:46 I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in

darkness.

Years of Infertility

Struggles with sin

Extended

Shadowof Death

PersistentHubris

Addiction

FEARS

PAIN

While Jesus calls us out of darkness, there are still areas in our lives that are dark and empty.

By surrendering to the fact that we all have dark, unfillable voids, we open ourselves again and again to Jesus—the Light of the world—entering into our

lives through these empty spaces.

The Indescribable Gift from Heaven