I remember one time when I was a child and our family took a tour of a cave. The tour took us through many twisting paths among piles of rocks, stalagmites and stalactites. And then at one point on the tour the guide stopped the group and told us we were about to experience total darkness. The guide flipped a switch and all the lights in that underground cavern went out.
The blackness was complete. I could hear others around me. I knew they were there, but I could not see them. I could not see my hand when I held it up to my face, just inches away from my eyes.
Life without God can be that dark, perhaps even darker. When we are living a life separated from God we are completely isolated. We experience the loneliness and emptiness I experienced in that cave.
The author of Ephesians offers a reminder of hope. Where were we? What did we NOT have? Where are we now?
When the lights in the cave were turned back on we all experienced incredible relief. Although we knew we had not moved and nothing had changed – other than darkness – there was an overwhelming sense of isolation and loneliness in the dark. It was easy to think that we were completely alone.
Before we experience salvation through Christ we are in the dark. Ephesians reminds us that without salvation we are separate from Christ. We are removed from the glory and love and comfort of our Savior. Without salvation we are excluded from being children of God. We are removed from the covenant, the pledge, the promise, of God’s love.
Without salvation we are without hope. We are lost, wandering in a spiritual darkness. We are alone.
But God has shone a light on us. God has given us Jesus Christ as our Savior. He has taken our sins through the crucifixion. When we accept this love and sacrifice we are made clean and our sins are no more.
Through the gift of grace through Jesus we are brought into a relationship with God. We are no longer alone in the dark, but we are bathed in the light of God’s love. As we stand in that light we are in the company of all others who are saved by grace.
We are connected to Jesus. We are connected to God. We are connected to all people, and we are able to share God’s love with others. In the light of God’s love we will also be able to see others, those who need to see God’s light too.
DAILY CHALLENGE: How can you remember the light of love God shines on you?
