We are a people who are called out of darkness. What is the darkness? Jesus says he is the light, and we are to shine the light. We are to be the moon to his sun.
As I ponder this truth, it occurs to me that darkness is sin. When we sin, we turn our back on God, and thus, cannot reflect him. We also allow ourselves to live on the dark side of the moon. We are turned from God. In all honesty, I think it is human nature to avoid seeing into the depths of our sinful nature. We are blind to our sins because we desire to be good people. We tell ourselves that we are good people, and we ignore the shame we feel because we know we are sinners.
Brené Brown, a licensed social worker who has spent a lot of her career studying authentic living and the consequences of shame on such living, tells us that shame is an emotion that tells us we are bad people. Guilt is an emotion that says we are good people who make bad decisions. I think these are good definitions, and I think the problem is that we feel ashamed of our sins, and we avoid feeling the shame.
If this is correct, then we need to work at changing our internal dialogue away from shame to guilt. It is in this way that we can work to be more aware of the things that keep us from reflecting the fullness of Jesus’ light into the world. In the end, Jesus died for our sins, but he also died to bring us life. When we avoid the truth of our sinful nature, we numb our pain and avoid the healing Jesus has in store for us. We spend more time in darkness than in the light.
Spend some time today with the Holy Spirit. Invite him in to show you where he is shining light into your darkness. Ask him to help your eyes adjust to the light so that you can more fully see where he is calling you to deeper conversion. Thank him for his faithfulness, and ask him for forgiveness. As you wrap up your prayer session, go in knowledge of his mercy and live your day in joy. Live your day being a light to those who are still in darkness.
In Him,
Ms. Debra D. Weldon, OP
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