Light shines in the darkness
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.” (John 1:5, NLT)
I remember the day I received the tragic call. “Your uncle died last night,” the voice said on the other side of the line. Yes, my favorite uncle passed away the previous night and the world just stopped spinning for a second. Part of me was trying to figure things out while the other was sinking deeper and deeper into the new reality which included his complete physical absence.
If I could depict what was happening, it would be like this: “You have the perfect life. You’re doing what you love, you’re trying your best, you have new adventures every day, and more importantly, you’re getting to know God as well. Then, one day, you come home wanting to share with your uncle everything good God has blessed you with. You open the door and shout the words expecting to hear an answer—‘uncle Martin, you would never guess what happened to me today,’ you say with a big smile in your face. Silence. You try again —‘hey, uncle Martin! Guess what?.’ Silence again. ‘Uncle Martin?,’ your heart starts racing. Your first reaction is to start checking every room of the house hoping you’d find him sitting somewhere. ‘Uncle Martin?,’ your voice goes high again. ‘Uncle Martin?,’ you race leaving doors open behind you expecting the best, but you never find him.”
This is how I picture it feels like every time we lose someone, or some tragedy happens in our lives. Or not necessarily a tragedy. It could be a goodbye as we are moving away. I’m not good with goodbyes. I despise them. BUT...it’s in the midst of that kind of darkness where I learn to trust Him. It’s there where “the LIGHT shines through.” It’s there where God helps me long for Heaven more and promises me that it’ll be a place where I’m not going to need to say goodbye to anyone anymore, simply because “the former things shall pass away.” (Rev 21:4)
Are you longing for heaven today too? Are you READY for it?
I remember the day I received the tragic call. “Your uncle died last night,” the voice said on the other side of the line. Yes, my favorite uncle passed away the previous night and the world just stopped spinning for a second. Part of me was trying to figure things out while the other was sinking deeper and deeper into the new reality which included his complete physical absence.
If I could depict what was happening, it would be like this: “You have the perfect life. You’re doing what you love, you’re trying your best, you have new adventures every day, and more importantly, you’re getting to know God as well. Then, one day, you come home wanting to share with your uncle everything good God has blessed you with. You open the door and shout the words expecting to hear an answer—‘uncle Martin, you would never guess what happened to me today,’ you say with a big smile in your face. Silence. You try again —‘hey, uncle Martin! Guess what?.’ Silence again. ‘Uncle Martin?,’ your heart starts racing. Your first reaction is to start checking every room of the house hoping you’d find him sitting somewhere. ‘Uncle Martin?,’ your voice goes high again. ‘Uncle Martin?,’ you race leaving doors open behind you expecting the best, but you never find him.”
This is how I picture it feels like every time we lose someone, or some tragedy happens in our lives. Or not necessarily a tragedy. It could be a goodbye as we are moving away. I’m not good with goodbyes. I despise them. BUT...it’s in the midst of that kind of darkness where I learn to trust Him. It’s there where “the LIGHT shines through.” It’s there where God helps me long for Heaven more and promises me that it’ll be a place where I’m not going to need to say goodbye to anyone anymore, simply because “the former things shall pass away.” (Rev 21:4)
Are you longing for heaven today too? Are you READY for it?
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| Rapidan, VA |
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