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A Light in the Midst of the Darkness
By Greg Quinn February 3rd, 2009 My little brother Boge can sure pick and sing. Those big ‘ol flashlight fingers running across the frets on that little mandolin is a sight to see and hear. To hear that high tenor voice coming out of such a big boy is a sweet, sweet sound. One of my very favorite songs that he does is the old Gatlin Brothers song, “Light at the End of the Darkness”. There’s a light at the end of the darkness And it shines for all the world to see It will shine on your heart if you will let it I was blind when it finally shined on me There is hope in that Light for the hopeless And a soothing balm for pain and misery It’s as near as your faith but sometimes seems fleeting I was blind when it finally shined on me. There’s a Light at the end of the darkness So look up when you are down and try to believe Sometimes we have to be knocked down to make us look upward I was looking up from the bottom when it finally shined on me. Want to be blessed? Click on the link and listen to Chris Christian sing this song. Like the old southern preacher said, “If that don’t stir your soul, your spoon has fell out of your bowl.” What does all this mean? We live in a dark time. Crime is everywhere. Terrorists are attacking our homeland. Parents are murdering their children. Drug abuse is rampant. Children are being sold into prostitution. Every city has pedophiles and child molesters. The economy is terrible. We have a liberal President with socialist views. The radical Muslims want to wipe the earth of any sign of God or His people. Christians are facing persecution around the world and at home. We murder thousands of innocent babies daily. We are in a war we cannot seem to win in a land that doesn’t want our help. People don’t want to hear about God. Everyone seems to be hurting, yet no one wants to hear the answer. It is dark. It is bleak. It’s difficult at times to see the light shine through to break up the darkness. But there is an answer. Just as the answer to the darkness in your personal life can come to an end through a relationship with Jesus Christ, the answer to the darkness in our world is the “light of the world”. What is the light of the world? Christians. The world is dark because Christians are not shining their light. Grasp this. Darkness doesn’t get any darker. It’s dark. Black. Darkness is the lack of light. The world is not dark because of the darkness. It is dark because of the lack of light. Let me say that again. The world is not dark because of the darkness. It is dark because of the lack of light. Jesus said that we (Christians) are the light of the world. As He spoke in the Bible, in Matthew 5: 14-16: Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. The world is dark, because we don’t shine. We are supposed to be the light in the midst of the darkness. A light in a dark world. We are not at the end of the darkness, but in the midst. In our personal lives, sometimes we feel we are at the end of the darkness when we finally look up and accept God’s blessings. As Christians in a lost and dark world, we are the light in the midst of the darkness. Until we die and go to Heaven, or until the Lord returns, we are the light in the middle of a dark world. So what do we do? We are to shine. When you are at lunch with your classmates at school, bow your head and say a prayer for the blessings that you have something to eat. Shine. When you hit your finger with a hammer, and want to curse, stop the words in your throat and instead be thankful that you didn’t harm yourself more. Shine. You are a doctor and are put in a position to do an abortion or talk the pregnant teenage daughter into keeping the baby. Shine. You are a politician and you can support a liberal bill that will be bad for the country but good for the pockets of you or your colleagues. Shine. You have the opportunity to lie to save face, or tell the truth and suffer the consequences. Shine. You have the opportunity to take advantage of the girl, or to do the right thing and allow her to keep her precious gift. What do you do? You shine. You can talk about God to friends at work, sharing what Christ has done in your life very simply, or you can keep quiet. Shine. Want to help the economy? Shine. Want to comfort the young mother who lost her husband in the war in Iraq? Shine. Concerned about the family across town that lost their home in a house fire, or the old lady that lost her husband of 50 years, or the little boy that lost his pet dog? Shine. Recognizing that your life is your witness, it is more about how you act than what you say, you elect to walk upright before a mighty God in the midst of a dark world. You let your light shine. I remember a time when my world was dark. But, thank God, like stated in the lyrics of the song, I was looking up from the darkness when He finally shined on me. There are people all around you that feel the same way. Especially now. In times of hardship, in times when the world seems the darkest, that is when the light of God through Christians needs to shine more brightly. Be that light in the midst of the darkness. I pray that you shine brightly!
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