Thoughts for the Day

‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

‘Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgement, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.’

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

I have recently enjoyed rewatching a long-running television series on Alaska and its people, and wondered how on earth men and women manage to survive in such harsh conditions - living for months on end with virtually no daylight and in darkness, never mind the snow and ice, and the inability to grow food for most of the year. What struck me was the way the people look forward to the coming of the sun and daylight, desperate to make the most of the few short months of summer. Jesus' words to Nicodemus kept coming into my mind: "The light has come into the world and people prefer darkness". Just as turning away from light to darkness is not a natural thing to do as the Alaskans know all too well, neither is turning away from God's Son, who is the 'Light of the world'.

Jesus says that God sent His son to earth to save the world, but often we condemn ourselves by choosing to reject God's offer of eternal life. We turn from the light of God, preferring the darkness of sin. We shouldn't see the word 'sin' as some terrible evil act, it's often a multitude of small things. We speak (or think) negatively about others; we take the largest piece of cake on the plate; we imagine we are better than those around us; we look down on other people; or we tell little 'white' lies. We can all think of many such sins that we commit almost without noticing them.

Those who live in Alaska would not understand a longing for the dark where everything is made so difficult, instead they long for the light. May we too long for light of God's love this Eastertide!

Lord of Light
You call us to Your radiant light,
but all too often we prefer to go our own way
and condemn ourselves to the darkness.
May we respond to Your love
that offers us salvation, hope, and healing,
and come to You in repentance.
Amen.