FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT

Isaiah 60:1 “"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.”

Imagine living in the little town of Barrow, Alaska. It’s located on the farthest northern tip of the state of Alaska, above the Arctic Circle. In Barrow Alaska, the sun sets in the afternoon on November 18, and it doesn’t rise again until January 24. 65 days of darkness. 65 days when the sun doesn’t shine. Up there, the earth is tilted in such away that the sun never shows itself for over two months out of the year. But when the sun does rise for a moment on January 24, the whole town comes out to celebrate, because finally, there is light again.

Our scripture is speaking of a different kind of light and darkness. And when this special light that God speaks about begins to shine through that ugly darkness, the results are much more spectacular and joyful than anything you could experience in northern Alaska.

God pictures our world as a very dark place. Spiritually dark. You can see evidence of spiritual darkness by looking around you. Yes, “thick darkness is over the peoples, but…” God says, “…but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you.” The birth of the Lord, Jesus Christ, is described in the Bible as the rising of the sun on a very dark place. The sun rises and the darkness disappears. What happens to the darkness of your sin and guilt when Jesus rises in your life? It disappears. Jesus shines his forgiveness and grace into your life, and the darkness in your soul disappears.

If you feel guilt in your life, guilt from committing sin after sin, guilt from trying to make things right with God, even though you know you can never do enough, then you are someone who is trapped in darkness. But then you learn that Jesus Christ was born into the world. You learn that he came for the sole purpose of doing what you could not do – making everything right between you and God. You learn that your sins are freely forgiven because Jesus has died for all of your sins on the cross. You can feel your guilt melt away. It is as though the sun has risen for you. Finally you can see that, because of Christ, everything is good between you and God. You have gone from darkness to light.

And no matter how dark the world becomes, the light of Jesus Christ will never stop shining for you. Don’t feel too sorry for the people of Barrow, Alaska. While it is true that for those 65 days, the sun never rises there, soon the earth will tilt a different way, and then, in Barrow, Alaska, the sun will never set. From May 10 until August 2, for almost three months, the sun will not stop shining in Barrow. People call that place “the land of the midnight sun.”

And so it is with your soul. Once the grace and mercy and forgiveness of Jesus Christ rises in your life, it will never stop shining. No matter how dark the world gets around you, Christ’s love will always shine in your life. Spiritually, right now, you live in the “land of the midnight sun.” Let this be for you a time when you see ever more clearly the glory of your Savior, Jesus Christ.