The Darkness

Here's MJ having to cook with a head lamp on her head because of the darkness
caused by a recent power outage. If she ever decides to leave the mission field I guess she could
 begin a career as  a coal miner: )

Well, I’m sitting here in the dark writing (on my partially charged computer) using the glow of my computer screen as a light. It’s pouring down rain outside. The power is out for the umpteenth time. This is déjàvu all over again! 

We’ve had back to back to back to back storms and power outages here lately. It seems like as soon as the sun starts shining again another storm moves in and along with it comes the darkness. It’s kind of wears on you, if you know what I mean.

Taking cold showers (because of no electricity) gets old quick. It’s one thing to take a cold shower- it’s another thing to take one with frigid mountain water! It literally takes your breath away. We’ve lost food in our freezer because of the power being out, we’ve gone through a bunch of the batteries we had stockpiled (trying to keep flashlights on), we haven’t been able to wash clothes, the kids have been going stir-crazy because of the ‘not’ having anything to do because of the power being out. And then there’s the darkness... it’s so dark here! You literally can’t see your hand in front of your face. It’s a major bummer (do people even say that anymore?). Darkness definitely limits mobility, activity, and can create insanity. Please Lord, turn the power back on!

After 2 days of no electricity and rain Me, Matthew and MJ decided to play dominoes
by candlelight and by using our flashlights.

There’s another kind of darkness that’s even more crippling then the physical darkness that I was just talking about though. It’s a darkness that even you, who are reading this blog, have to fight against in your life. It’s the darkness that’s a result of hating your brother or sister in Christ. I know that came out of nowhere, right? But I feel like I need to write this for somebody today. Because I believe that somebody feels far from God and you feel like your lost even though you’re a christian. So, here ya go...

In I John 1:7-11 it says that if you hate your brother, that not only are you walking blind, in the darkness and that you don’t know where you’re going- but it also says that you’re ‘not’ walking in fellowship with God (which maintaining fellowship with God should be paramount in every believer’s life). The reason for that is that our love for one another is the thing that distinguishes us from every other religion on the planet. Our love for one another is the thing that causes those around us to take notice that we’re different. 

Jesus said, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35

We’ve been born of God, who in turn gave us His Spirit. And His Spirit gives us the ability to love as He loves (i.e., it's not dependent on how the other person reciprocates it back to us) and to walk in such a way that it causes others to notice. 

So how do we do that when, honestly, other people who are our brothers and sisters in Christ just frustrate us and maybe even do us wrong? The short answer is this... Just think about how much God loves you in spite of you. Now if you think you’re the easiest person to love... well, you’re wrong. And if you’re arguing with me then you’re definitely the person I'm talking to! If we measured ourselves against how much God loves us even though we blow it, then it makes it easier to forgive and love others even though they hurt us. Read the story in Matthew 18:21-35 about the unforgiving servant. That’ll make you want to drop whatever it is that you’ve got against your brother in a hurry! Because it’s just not worth it. 

And love’s not a feeling, it’s a choice. It’s choosing to react toward that person and respond to that person the way God wants you to (with mercy and grace)- rather than how you want to (by punching them in the face... hey, that rhymes. haha!). 

If you’ve put your trust in Jesus, you’ve got the ability on the inside of you to do it. You do. So just lay aside what’s happened and choose to love. Because it’s way better walking in the light than it is the darkness: )

“I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in the darkness.”

              John 12:46

Love Ya, 

JIm