Can You See?

I thought I knew what darkness was...

My family and I went on a little day trip a couple years ago where we were allowed to travel deep into a real Pennsylvania coal mine. It used to be fully functioning, but is now just used as a tourist attraction. We walked the dimly lit corridors with our guide as he explained what daily life for the miners used to be. It was completely fascinating, especially for me, because this was actually my grandfather's profession years ago.

There are several things that stood out to me on that tour. But, one of the biggest moments is when the guide announced that he would be shutting off all the lights for a moment. He explained that the workers did not have such a luxury and worked all day in complete darkness with just the light from their work hats to guide them.

"One, two, three!" the guide said loudly, as he suddenly shut down every light in the mine. 

PITCH BLACK

I thought I knew what darkness was until this moment. We literally could see NOTHING. Not the person next to us, not the walls, the floor or even our own hands. It actually made us a little nervous and we were quite happy when the guide turned the lights back on. Phew.

The Bible talks about darkness. Not a physical darkness, but a spiritual one. It explains that without Jesus, who is the LIGHT of the world, we are ALL in darkness. This means we literally 'see' and spiritually understand NOTHING. We are blind. We may feel our way around in the dark and think we understand, but in reality we 'see' as much as someone who is in a deep, dark coal mine with no light.

So the question for us today is this:

Can you see?

There's a simple way to find out. If you have Jesus, you can see.

Jesus said He is the Light of the World, as well as the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Just as He was able to heal a man from physical blindness, He can also heal us from spiritual blindness. If we come to Him and ask for His forgiveness and surrender our hearts to Him, He will come in and make His home in our hearts and 'turn the lights on' inside of us! And that Light is Himself! God doesn't want anyone to walk in darkness. There is nothing that would make Him happier than to show Himself to you.

The people who walk in darkness will see a great light.

For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine...

For a child is born to us, a son is given to us.

The government will rest on his shoulders.

And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

His government and its peace will never end.

He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity.

The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven's Armies will make this happen! 

Isaiah 9:2,6-7 NLT