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 all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. – John 1:1-5 NIV
In the heat of summer, there are little caverns of relief; groves of trees with broad green leaves that provide a cool, lush haven from the intensity of the afternoon sun. We cannot withstand the rays of the summer sun. It burns our shoulders and the grass on our lawns. We face heat advisories and are told to go into air conditioned homes or dunk in cool water. We slather on SPF lotions and polarized sunglasses for protection if we go outside. We try to avoid the zenith of the sun in summer because its light can be dangerous. It blazes, parches, and can be unbearable. It can feel like there is too much sunlight in the middle of summer.
And so, we dwell in the comfort of shadow. We hide from the brightness of midday. We shield ourselves from the power of a star blazing millions of miles away. Because even in its distance, its power is undeniable.
It is a metaphor of the soul. For at one time, man and woman dwelt embraced by Light. For a brief moment, man was created and lived pure and unashamed before God. Until he sinned. And his first instinct was to hide. To slink away from the call of God. To shelter from the now unbearable presence of the Light.
It is the same in our hearts. We hold onto the lies of our darkness. We trust our faults and weaknesses and deny the love and the power of Christ, our Redeemer. We believe more firmly in the lies that whisper to us in the dark than the light of grace and mercy. We shelter our shadows in the recesses of our hearts, believing injury and doubt over truth and love.
Satan loves the shadows. He loves the dark places where the light is not ever seen. He prefers our fears and doubts remain hidden in caverns and crevices rather than be seen by others. He prefers us to be bound and immobilized by fear than to share our vulnerabilities. He loves when we have secrets from others. And he delights when we are not only crippled in our doubt, but fear others’ perceptions of ourselves, because how could it ever be good? How could others ever love us, forgive us, given the knowledge we have of the ugliest, most unredeemable parts of ourselves?
So our dark secrets, our baggage becomes a millstone. We fall and are drowning into the darkness of the deep, trying to smother a light that is both bright and unencumbering. But we are not chained to the millstone we cling to. We are freed by repentance. We are freed when we seek. We are freed when we ask for help. We are freed by the mercy of others and we are freed by the unconditional grace and love of Christ.
We need not believe solely in the darkness and the damage that has befallen us. We are not slaves to the lies that were spoken to us in haste and anger. We are not disapproved of, disliked, too much or too little. We are not unloveable and we are not failures. We are not ugly and are not stupid. We are the creation and the joy of God. We are redeemed by the very blood of Christ. We are ourselves His unique creation mingled with His Spirit, called for His good purposes. And part of that purpose is to help one another with their unique baggage. Not to carry it, but to look at it with each other from the angles and the brilliance of the light, where the shadows have no reign. Where it dissipates before the enduring light of the love and truth of God.
Written by Janet Keefe
