The Dark Light
When I was a young mom in my early twenties with my first baby on my hip, I began reading and listening to a self-proclaimed "whistle blower" of the FDA and pharmaceutical companies. He claimed that all our medication we take and food we eat are manufactured specifically to keep us addicted, fat and sick. His assumptions based on his research showed that the producers of such goods were profiting from keeping people in need of their commodities. The more addicted we are to the food, the more we eat the food, the sicker we become consequently needing more medications. Me and my savvy college educated self thought I'd seen the light and uncovered some secret truth. This author used many seemingly reliable sources and much of his claims seemed valid and verifiable. Coupled with my own awareness of the rise of obesity, illnesses, and food allergies, it all naturally fit like a puzzle in my mind. Within a matter of days, I allowed this one man’s claims to drastically alter my behavior and decisions I made for my family for a short time. Months later I watched a news report where many of this man's claims were being questioned and reported him as a fraud who offered no valid proof of the contents in his book. He also refused an interview with reporters. At this point, I didn’t know what or who to believe. Is there some conspiracy? Was the media working for the government trying to discredit this author and keep him quiet because maybe he REALLY IS telling the truth? Or was this man preying on the vulnerability of young moms like me who fear being manipulated by greedy government agencies? I may as well have been watching two people hold flashlights towards each other and try to determine which one had the brighter light and exposed more of their opponents darkness. Who knows? He made his $29.95 off of me and supposedly he's sitting in a prison cell with a bank account that's 37 million in the red. As for the TRUTH? Now, 16 years later, I STILL HAVE NO IDEA. We live in a time where subjective information shines brightly. This world has blinded us into deadly darkness and the only way to regain sight is by following the only light that leads to life.
Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”
John 8:12
Since we still have to live in this world and make wise choices based on the information we're given, how can we know if what we see as true is really true? We usually don't. The Bible addresses this issue in various places throughout scripture. Mathew 6:22-23 and Luke 11:34-36, both report Jesus as saying that our eyes are like a lamp that gives light to the house. If our eye isn't healthy, it cannot give light. He goes on to warn them that the light they think they have is really darkness. Jesus admonishes those who do not believe Christ was sent by God to be light of the world. He's not doing so because he thinks they're foolish thinkers, but because they are blind seers. They depend on their own ability to interpret signs from heaven completely missing the truth set before them by God. So how can a light be darkness? Well, lets take a look at the king of darkness. According to Paul in 2 Corinthians 11:14, Satan masquerades as an angel of light! So how do we know the difference in the right light and the wrong light? For most of us it's not as simple as knowing right from wrong. Most of the us with a religious background are no different from Jesus's misguided audience. We have a good handle on what righteousness looks like. The enemy knows this so rather than determining the difference between right and wrong, we must be able to discern between right and almost right. We must pay close attention. We're not simply discerning between ugly lies and beautiful truth. They are beautiful lies because they look exactly like the truth. Matthew 6:23 warns that the light you think you have is actually a deep, dark lie.
But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! Matthew 6:23
So how is this possible? And how do we know who or what to believe? Well, we must first look at how information is formed. In most cases it's based on someone's personal perception or a collection of data which is rarely objective. For instance, if someone has a negative experience at a particular hotel then they will perceive it as a bad place to stay. But what if the person on another floor had a great experience there and think it's a great place to stay? Is it a good hotel or bad hotel? Or take for instance a doctor who has built a practice over several decades. His patients think he's amazing and he has saved many people's lives. But what about the many who left his office with a grievance to never return? Is he a good doctor or a bad doctor? It depends on who you ask. Let's take it one step further. Consider the coronavirus. Is it good or bad? Probably bad right? Well, what if someone who tested positive for Covid-19 had to alter their plans that inadvertently saved their life? Later they recover from the virus and avoided a tragic accident. For them, this virus might not be so bad.
Jesus said, "My light will shine for you just a little longer. Walk in the light while you can, so the darkness will not overtake you. Those who walk in darkness cannot see where they are going. Put your trust in the light while there is still time; then you will become children of the light."
John 12:35-36
We should remember that Jesus was killed by his executioners because they believed a lie. He pleaded with his Father “forgive them for they know not what they do.” In other words, He understood that they were blinded by the darkness because they did not know the truth. Too often we take a stance and act based on lies and partial truths that validate our feelings. From racists to rioters, and from the cowards to the fighters, no one sees the full picture. All are staring at a false light blinding them from the truth. Why? Because they do not hold the light. So what do we do? If God is light and Satan masquerades as one, how do we have assurance we're on the right path? According to Psalms 119:105, there’s only one source of light that can always be trusted. It says “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.“ There’s only one place we can go for absolute truth! Only one place where we we won't be blinded by a deceptive, dark light. There is no match for the pure and holy light of Jesus Christ who was raised from the dead to give us life. We must get BEHIND that light if we have any hope to see. Staring at a newsfeed, articles, and watching reports and interviews will only blind us from seeing what is real. The light that provides sight won’t be found on a screen or in a headline, but on our knees, in His word, and behind His heels.
For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5
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