Beacons in the Night

“Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.”  How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.”-James 4:13-14

Jesus once told a story about a rich man whose land yielded an abundant harvest.  The man so excited about what he had thought to himself, “I have no place to store these crops; I know what I’ll do.  I will build bigger barns to store all of my grain … then I’ll have plenty of grain for years and years and years.”  But little did this man know that that very night his life would be taken from him.

Jesus told this story because he wanted us to know that life is precious and that the life we have is fleeting.  It’s not worth wasting or squandering on things that don’t matter.  It’s like the fog or a mist, here one second but gone the next.  And while Jesus reminds us of this truth, it something that we often forget until we are forced to come face to face with the reality that this life can be all too brief.

This week we have all come once again face to face with that reality.  And while we change our profile pics, hold our children tighter, and #PrayforParis we are reminded once again that we should count our days; because each day counts.

So how do we respond to a world where there is such pain and hurt and brokenness?  What do we do about a pregnant Pastor’s wife who is murdered during a home invasion?  How do we cope with the suicide of student inside the walls of our schools?  How do we respond to the family who has lost their mother years too early to yet another battle with breast cancer?  What can we say to bring comfort to those who have lost loved ones to terror?  How can we continue in the middle of all this darkness?

Honestly, I’m not sure I have a great answer.  Its times like these that I am at a loss for words.  It’s times like these that I believe, as scripture teaches, God’s Spirit cries out on our behalf.  Because when we come face to face with the darkness that is present in our world the only thing that makes any sense is the groaning of the soul.

And yet as Christians, if we have learned anything about our God it is that even in the darkest hour there is still hope; that even in the midst of great injustice and tragedy that our God is still at work; that even in the darkness there is light.

It was in the beginning while the earth was formless and void, while chaos ruled, and while darkness reigned that God first brought light into the world.  And it’s no different today.  He still is looking to bring light into this dark world.

So how do we respond to this incredible darkness that we face?  How do we overcome all of the pain?   How can we make sense of any of these tragedies?

We become the light that God has called us to be.  We become “beacons in the night”.

Jesus said, “You are the light of the world.  A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.  Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see … your Father in heaven.”

We were made to be light.

God first spoke light into existence, bringing order to chaos and pushing away the darkness.  Then he created humans and put his eternal light in us.  He created us to be beacons in the night, a refuge for those who are hurting, a pillar to remain constant in the storm. 

So how can you respond to this darkness ?  It’s simple really.

Be the light.

Wherever you can.  However you can.  Push back the darkness.   Become a beacon in the night.