The Light Shines in the Darkness

2007 has been the most difficult and most rewarding year in memory. I have known joy and pain on a deeper level than ever, and I have gained “strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge.” And I must recount that this has happened together with all the saints, for I cannot tell the story of this year without talking about the people I love—about the babies born, the sicknesses fought, the weddings, the funerals—and the myriad ways that God has worked and is working in each of these things “for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose.” The fellowship of the trinity truly does overflow into the life of the church.

And yet, as the year draws to a close, I feel as though I am quietly suffocating. Fear and sin have been regaining strength in strategic areas of my heart, and I’ve stood mutely by—-allowing myself to believe that my hands are somehow tied. I’ve watched the process unfold for months as I give in to this or that sin, excusing my own indolence and indulgence. And now I find that all the things I don’t want to do are strengthened in me, while the things I want to do are conversely weakened. We do reap what we sow.

As I look ahead to 2008, I’m tempted to make all sorts of resolutions—-some inane and some sensible. But I realize, even as I contemplate these resolutions, that the establishment of such goals can be a Babel-esque enterprise. I cannot do any of these things on my own. So what does it mean to go forward in the power of His might?

Jesus came into this world that those who do not see may see (John 9). This is my hope as I walk blindly on; the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. The darkness has not overcome it. I have steeped myself in my own sin and believed-—almost unconsciously—-that I was rebaptized into a gospel of self-reliance. False gospels always leave us flailing and alone. But the gospel of Jesus Christ says that I am being changed--progressively sanctified—-not because I implement the right strategies or impose the right restrictions, but because “he who began a good work in [me] will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil 1:6).

So, dear friends, I offer to you this word of hope as we enter 2008 together:

"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." Neither the darkness inside us or the darkness around us can contend with this light--in whom is our very life.

Happy new year to you and to me. Let us lie down to sleep in the knowledge that we have already received in Christ everything that we need for life and godliness.