I remember when I was much younger, I wanted so much for Jesus Christ to walk the earth as he did over two thousand years ago. The thought of being able to have a conversation with him, to sit down and enjoy a meal together, or to just be in his company; it thrilled me beyond belief. I wondered why he didn’t come back in human form to be with us continually. Even at a young age, I was aware of the condition of the world and knew how desperately we all need his love. I thought that if his physical presence were with us on earth, things would be much better. Surely people would believe in him more and behave more loving towards one another if he were here in the flesh, I thought. Then we could all see him with our physical eyes, just as we see one another. As I matured, I realized the truth that he is more real to us because we can’t see him with our physical eyes. We have to see and know him spiritually, and this is what makes us come alive.
Our Heavenly Father rescued us from the dominion of darkness, and He transferred us to His Kingdom, where His love and His Son, Jesus Christ, rule. This is not a Kingdom that we can see with physical eyes, we must know it by faith. Colossians 1:16-17(NLT) tells us, “16 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, 17 for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him.” This includes us. We were created through Jesus Christ, and we are created for him. Even as we move throughout our everyday lives, we are reminded constantly that the things we can taste, touch, smell, hear, and see are secondary to those things in which we cannot see; things like love, peace, joy, power, and strength.
2Corinthians 4:18 tells us that we must fix our eyes on the things that we can’t see, because what we can’t see is more real than what we can see. The stuff we can see is temporary. It’s here today and gone tomorrow. But the stuff we can’t see is eternal. God’s love never ends. It never stops giving and His power never stops creating and producing wonderful results. To further make His point, God tells us in Hebrews 11:3(NLT), “By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.” So, you and I must come into consciousness once and for all that we are on this earth to learn to function through the reality of Jesus Christ. He gave his life so that we could have his Spirit within our body temples, and therefore, we can tap into his power and love every moment of every day.
Christ lives in us! Ephesians 2:10 tells us that we are God’s masterpieces, and He created us in Christ Jesus, so that we can do all the good things that He planned for us. He planned these good things long before we entered our mother’s wombs. So, we have a destiny! We have a purpose within God’s plan. If you and I are always focused on what’s happening in the world, or if we are self-absorbed and consumed with our physical bodies and appearance, we may miss the boat entirely. If our attention is occupied with everything other than our relationship with God, we won’t learn to walk in Christ through faith, and this means we will be in the dark about who we really are. We won’t know our true identity, and this is what the Bible calls being in darkness.
Darkness is the absence of light. Darkness is ignorance, and it is a pit of perpetual evil. It belongs to the devil, and his mission is to keep as many people in the dark as possible. Darkness is not powerful, but we believe it is, and this is a lie that can enslave us. If we do not know the light of Christ, we are equal to darkness. When we are equal to darkness, we behave, think, speak, and feel at its level. A person cannot rise above that in which they do not know. It is only when we know the light that we can become light ourselves, and only the One that is light can show us the way.
We are empowered through the strength God gives us, and the light He gives through Jesus Christ will transform us into the men and women God desires us to be. Jesus Christ sheds light on our true identity, but it is through the example that he left that we can know who we were created to be. Many people are refusing to know themselves through Jesus Christ. Wherever this attitude prevails, the remnants of darkness will bring misery, despair, and destruction.
Many of us think that drudgery, pain, struggle, and darkness are natural parts of life, but all such forms of enslavement are not natural. They are not God’s intention for His children. It is important for us to be able to call a spade a ‘spade’, to know the truth, and to discern light from darkness. We must know what comes from God and what comes from satan. When we know what comes from God, we can reach for it through faith, claim it, and walk in it the way that those who were the Great Cloud of Witnesses did. God gave these champions of faith this title in Hebrews 12:1 because they believed and trusted Him with their whole hearts. We must do the same.
1John 1:6-7(NLT) tells us, “6 So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. 7 But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.” Please do not be fooled. It is not God’s Will that anyone should perish. He wants everyone to have eternal life, and He wants us to enjoy the fullness of His glory and light. It can’t be lost on us that this is an unprecedented spiritual time. Many people are losing the spiritual battle and allowing their souls to be overtaken with darkness. This is not God’s plan for anyone. Jesus Christ said in John 8:12(ESV), “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” This is his invitation to us. At any time in a person’s life, they can turn from darkness to Jesus Christ. He will forgive our sins and deliver us from darkness through his love. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Don’t Let Darkness Overtake You”, written by Vince Mack. Blessing Beads and More© 2020. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
Comments