Who Owns the Dark?
God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all I John 1:5
Darkness – Have you ever wondered why “darkness” is associated with evil? The history is very old. In ancient times, darkness was associated with the realm of the dead. It was a place of terror, chaos and danger. It doesn’t take much imagination to see why. Even today most people have a remnant fear of the dark.
Ancient people believed that darkness described the human condition. We don’t see all that we would like to see. The path ahead is not brightly illuminated. Life has twists and turns we did not expect. In Hebrew and Greek, darkness often denotes evil and danger, sorrow and captivity. It is, quite simply, the place where you don’t know what’s really happening. For this reason, blindness was considered a particularly hideous defect. To live in a world of darkness was truly terrible.
The Greek word skotia was not so much about physical darkness as it was about the realm where life cannot exist, the underworld, the place of terror.
But the Hebrews also believed that God is the creator of light and darkness. He rules them both. From the first act of creation, God establishes His authority over the very thing that men fear most – the darkness. The creation story makes it quite clear that God overcomes the chaos, danger and terror of the dark with a single word – “Light”. In Hebrew cosmology, God saves with the first word uttered. He brings light to the dark and the darkness is conquered and dispelled.
The apostle John was quite aware of these themes when he wrote his gospel and his letters. He’s the one who uses the imagery of darkness when he introduces the coming of the Messiah (“the Light shines in the darkness” John 1:5 and “there was the true Light” John 1:9). In his first letter, John reminds his readers that God is light, an image for absolute purity, holiness and power. There is no darkness in God. There is no evil, no terror, no chaos, no danger, no secrecy, no deceit. Our God is the open God; the God whose plans and purposes have been revealed to men so that we might come to the Light. What God says is completely true. There are no hidden agendas, no ulterior motives. God is light and that light is love.
From the beginning of creation, God brought light into darkness. He continues to do so, perhaps not on a cosmic level but certainly on the level of spiritual awareness. God reveals. He dispels confusion, fear and doubt. He exposes sin and ignorance. Those who follow in the way are subjects of the light.
Today light shines from His countenance on you. Today you are able to see what was hidden yesterday. Today is the day to open your eyes.
