Thursday, July 25, 2013

Worth Waiting For (Reflection on July 21 Message)

The Apostle John loved to talk about 'light' and 'darkness'.  Here are a few examples.  "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." (John 1:5)  "...God is light, in him there is no darkness at all.  If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth.  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin." (1 John 1:5-7)

Light and darkness are ways for John to talk about God's incomparable goodness and the evil that is the result of sin in the world. 

I guess I've always struggled with this idea.  Of course, walking in light means following Jesus, but don't we all walk in darkness some time - even a lot of the time?  How does the all-or-nothing vision of light and darkness leave any room for the Christian, who is simultaneously light and darkness - a sinner and justified in Christ?

I was up early this morning to pray - seated on Jess' and my back porch.  The world outside was dark and quiet except for the jarring hum of someone's air conditioning unit getting started.  I was waiting for a sense of dependence on the Lord; waiting for a moment of realization that I need the Lord so much more than any of the other things I think I need this early in the day.  Every few minutes I noticed that the sky had grown a little brighter since I last looked.

I thought about light and darkness and about the Apostle John.  He talked a lot about light and darkness.  I wondered if he liked to get up early and watch the sunrise.  Did what he saw there of light and darkness remind him of the way God works?

As I watched the dawning of a new day, two things occurred to me.  The first is that the light really does drive the darkness away.  The shadows flee from daylight.  The second thing I noticed is that this happens slowly.  Every few minutes there's a little more light.  The sky is more blue.  The grass is more green.  The clouds are more white.  My porch rug is more...well, whatever that color is, and everything is less black.  This happens gradually, even slowly.

Light drives out darkness in our lives in this way too.  Through faith in Christ's victory over death, the light has dawned in our lives.  Everywhere in our minds, hearts, and actions where we allow that light to take center stage, it drives out all darkness.  They can't co-exist.  But this also happens gradually.  It happens over time.  We have to be patient.

I think this also connects to God's word to us on Sunday and throughout the series on the fruit of the Spirit.  Galatians 5:22-23 talks about love, joy, peace, patience, etc. as the fruit of the one Holy Spirit.  If he lives inside us - and if you are in Christ, he does - then we already have all of these qualities listed growing inside of us.  We aren't missing any.  But among them is 'patience'.  We still have to wait for something.  We are filled with light through the Holy Spirit's presence within us.  He unites us to Christ in his death and resurrection so that we are like him.  But that light drives out the darkness gradually.  It takes place over time.  I think that is why, among so many other virtues, the Spirit fills us with patience.  We are given patience with ourselves and with our rate of spiritual growth.  We are also given patience to see the work that God is doing in us all the time.

Light has dawned in Christ.  Let the Holy Spirit do his work of driving out the darkness in your life one minute, one day, one month, one year at a time.

1) Do you sometimes wish the full light of day would arrive quicker in your life?  In other words, do you become impatient with your growth in Christ-likeness?
2) When has your patience been most tested with God and his new life for you?  What have you done to find peace in the waiting?