Live in the Light

“Come on, Bev, shake it off! Pitch to the glove!”  I can hear Dad shouting those words from the other side of the fence.  Like most pitchers will attest, there will occasionally be that umpire who sees balls and strikes crossing only a round plate – as if there is no inside, no outside, no corners.  It’s split-the-middle or else, and it makes pitchers growl … or kick dirt. 

 

Do you ever find yourself unable to “shake” a particular darkness?  Perhaps it’s a reoccurring emotional state, a gripping bad habit, or a destructive attitude.  You’ve pulled on those [proverbial] bootstraps so many times, they’re beginning to wear thin.  The fear that gloom might finally consume in one final gulp weighs heavily.  I’ve often wondered about the thoughts of those closest to Jesus during the days before His death.  Surely they sensed the growing political and religious unrest, sensed something terrible was about to happen.  Jesus knew there was much yet to be revealed in His death and resurrection, so He spoke to their most immediate and particular darkness: “I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.” (John 12:46).  To those circumstances that tend to crowd-out and cloud-over, hear this: Shake it off!  Daylight is come – The Day Star shines and night reigns no more – Morning has come!  Dad’s advice with regard to my pitching was this: Yeah, Bev, that was a lousy call but get that last pitch out of your head … concentrate on the next one, and the next one, and the next one.  Believer, take heart!  Christ is Hope and Light.  Shake off the looming darkness – Live in Light!