Never Fear Shadows

It's that rush of fearful adrenaline when you hear that simple noise, or see that little strip of darkness travel across the floor. Thoughts of possibilities that could occur begin to rush through your mind. Your fingers search the empty spaces for light and then finally, the switch is flipped. The light sweeps away the darkness as sudden as it appeared. The relief is then washed over you and you are reassured of your own security. The light comes to rest on your tear-stained eyes as if to ask why you were afraid. Why did you doubt it's existence?

            "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." -John 1:5

Fear is misunderstood for something that can never be used for good. Yes, I do believe that darkness has purpose, fear has its benefits. How else could we remember the light? Often times we go along living in the light of the day, taking for granted all of its beauty. We begin to think of ourselves as invincible creatures, able to take on whatever might challenge us. Oh, but it only takes a small shadow to shake us...to crush our pride. It is then that we realize we are not sufficient in and of ourselves. Our own strength is not strong. It isn't good enough and it never will be. We are not the light, but The Light is in us. All too often we walk the path by our own light and it is nothing more than a useless splash, a sample of what true light ought to look like. Our own efforts are artificial. We can not lead the weary and lost by our own definition of light and self-sufficiency. Our smiles should be beaming, our hearts overflowing, our thoughts lovely, our actions loving, proclaiming something greater than ourselves. We must saturate ourselves in the true light and with that comes a righteous confidence, not a pride that repulses. When we tap into the true source of light, darkness has no hold over us, for it has already been overcome. Shadows become a beautiful reminder, one that keeps us humble.

We can chase the shadows all we like, fear them with every fiber of our being. We could spend our entire lives running from that small strip of darkness, or we could see it for what it really is: A metaphor and a reminder that there is something greater, something stronger, something brighter than that little shadow. A light is shining, for without light, there would be no shadow and without shadows, we would be ignorant to the true light, walking in our own definition of it.