Shedding light on a little darkness

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

John 1:1-5

While the world did not understand the Light, I think there are many of us who do not understand the darkness. This is not a deficiency of intellect or a problem of pometency to understand. It is an unwillingness to behold that which is truly dark. Make no mistake, all of us -regardless of religion or creed- can recognize evil when we see it, if we are willing to open our eyes.

Thanks to David Berge and the folks at Christianity Today, I have been presented with a glimpse of just what this darkness is, and I thought I would pass it on to you. (Read the article before continuing. The rest of the post won't make sense otherwise.)

I find that after all the sermons I have heard regarding the care that Christ takes in my small concerns, and the efficacy of the Cross to cover my minor transgressions I have begun to believe that these are all that Christ died for. Truth be told, he did not die only for unpaid parking tickets and to bring me a peace that it will all be ok when my Illini don't beat North Carolina. My perspective on Christ and the world he came to save have been regrettably limited as a result.

His gracious Salvation may extend down to the minutae of my life, but His blood was poured out for so much more. There are evils in this world far greater than anything that has yet touched my life or the lives of most Americans. The scope of the capacity for evil that man can display is staggering. Consequently, the scope of the restorative and healing power of Christ is mind blowing.

My prayer is not that you take them out of the world

but that you protect them from the evil one.

John 17:15

Christ does not wish us to be taken from this world becuase it falls to us to help destroy the darkness as we carry His light in us. Looking at the happenings in Uganda we can see properly what some of the darkness looks like. Perhaps by understanding the darkness a little more I can begin to see a little more of what he wants me to do.