In Our Darkest Moments
“It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.” ~ Aristotle Onassis
I read this quote and have to tell you that I didn’t know what to do with it. To me, it presents a huge conundrum. On one hand, when we are in the dark, the light is easily visible, is it not? It doesn’t seem that you have to focus to see it. On the other hand, light in the dark can be penetrating and blinding. It causes people to look away rather than focus on it. Because of that, some might prefer to remain in the dark.
All of that is about physical darkness. We know that there is more than physical darkness, though. There is emotional darkness and there is spiritual darkness. As God’s people, we sometimes dwell in the darkness of sin. If we remain in it too long, sin becomes easier and easier until it becomes second nature. If we do nothing about it, we run the risk of choosing sin rather than the Lord when presented the option.
The Light of Christ shines upon that reality. It shines upon our sinfulness. It shines upon our past sins. It shines upon our present choices. The light can be intensely glaring after we’ve become accustomed to the dark and we are tempted to shade our eyes or avert our eyes so that we don’t have to look at the light and all that the light reveals.
This is a wonderful thought for our Lenten journey. This holy season challenges us to open our eyes and to allow the light to illumine our souls in the good areas as well as the parts that are covered in the darkness of sin. Once we see clearly, we are challenged to do all that we can to amend our ways so as to present to the Lord a pure soul unblemished by any taint of sin.
FAITH ACTION: Don’t be afraid of the Light of Christ. Allow Him to show you what you need to change or remove in your life.
Reminder: The Fridays of Lent are Days of Abstinence.