Throughout most of human history, people believed that forces larger than themselves held sway over their affairs. That was until the era that has been called the Enlightenment. Before that, so many things were unexplainable that people naturally assumed a higher being or many higher beings controlled the universe. With the advent of modern science in the Middle Ages, people began to assume that all the mysteries of the universe would eventually be explained by science. In other words, supernatural explanations were relegated to the genre of myth. There is no need for gods when humans can provide all the answers.
We have almost come full circle in our understanding. What
we see now through our electron microscopes and space telescopes has convinced
honest scientists that a higher power must have had a hand in designing the
universe. At the micro and at the macro level, the complexity of the things we
observe reveals a design that can only have been created by a grand designer.
This is not to say that scientists believe in the Creator God of the Bible, but
those who remain open minded in their investigations realize that what they
observe cannot have come into being by chance.
From beginning – let there be light – to the end – the lamb
is the light – the Bible represents God as the bringer of light into the world.
Nowhere is this clearer than in the opening passage of John’s Gospel. Speaking
of Jesus, the eternal Word and Creator God, John
says, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the
light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” Not only
did some people fail to comprehend what the light was, John
says that they were condemned because they, “loved darkness rather than
light, because their deeds were evil.”
Paul expands on this thought in
his letter to the Ephesians. “This therefore I say and testify in the
Lord, that you no longer walk as the Gentiles walk: in the
futility of their mind, being darkened in understanding, alienated from
the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them,
because of the hardness of their heart.” Their hardness of heart and their love
of darkness caused them to be separated from true life which is found only in
the light that comes from God. They are stuck in the futility, the emptiness of
human reason.
For several generations after Enlightenment thinking began
to take hold, there was a debate over which was supreme: faith or reason.
Theologians who were swept up in the apparent power of science to answer life’s
questions lost confidence in the supremacy of faith and put reason on equal
footing. That kind of thinking led to the liberal theology that blossomed in
the twentieth century. That mindset is evident today in organizations that call
themselves Christian but discount the accuracy and authority of the Scriptures.
In other words, they have extinguished the Light and turned to darkness.
Paul
tells the Ephesians, “you were formerly darkness, but now you are light
in the Lord. Live like children of light (for the fruit of the light is in
all goodness and righteousness and truth).” To live in the light, we must know
what is light. Saving faith demands obedience, and obedience requires
knowledge. In his devotional, Strength for Today, John MacArthur
cautions, “Anyone who puts his faith in Jesus Christ but who does not keep
God’s Word constantly at the forefront of his mind will find himself entrapped
in sin again and again.” The darkness will overtake anyone who does not keep
the light on.
I have recently returned to part-time work in a big box home
improvement store. I am reminded daily of the darkness many people live in. I
think if the letter “f” were removed from some people’s vocabulary, they
wouldn’t be able to put together a sentence. The frivolity and debauchery that
characterizes the pastimes of many people is remarkable. Selfishness is
rampant. The other day I commented to my tablemate in the break room that it
had taken me two and a half hours to take my break because I was continually
stopped by customers. I was given a tutorial from another table on how to avoid
interacting with customers on my way to a break: walk fast, pretend to be on
the phone, look only at the floor, take the back aisle and wear a scowl. These
were the techniques my fellow associate claimed to use so that he could take
his break on time. I was encouraged to see my tablemate give him one of those
scowls he mentioned, and I asked him (humorously, I hope) to stop corrupting
me.
If it was only unbelievers who walked in darkness, one might
write it off as the evidence of sin in the world. Sadly, many who have placed
their faith in Christ also stumble around in the dark because they don’t put
into practice the principles of living in the light found in Scripture. Likely,
they don’t read the Bible regularly (or not at all.) Jesus said we are to be
the light of the world – not surprising since we are to be conforming ourselves
into His image, He who is the Light. It is really dark out there these days; we
must follow our Lord’s command and be the light. If you are a believer and
don’t know what that means, crack open your Bible and start reading.
