Darkness and Light

John 12:35-36

Jesus said to them, “The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.”

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I woke last night to the sound of thunder
How far off I sat and wondered
Started humming a song from 1962
Ain't it funny how the night moves
When you just don't seem to have as much to lose
Strange how the night moves
With autumn closing in

"Night Moves" by Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band

The darkness overtaking us... an image that is never reassuring. But the image is more than losing light, it's an image of losing your way. Beware of darkness.

Seger and the Night Moves, by this final piece of the song before the chorus and instrumental play-out, the singer is reminiscing about the days of his youth. The days of the earlier verses of this song and the dark-haired beauty. The days when he just didn't seem to have as much to lose. These days, I guess there was more to lose.

Since autumn is a poet's way of saying the end of days, a time before winter settles in, the singer remembers days long gone. It was less then twenty years between the mythical 1962 and when this song was recorded, but it was a life-time ago to the singer.

Jesus says "the light is with you for a little longer." he knows, by this time in the story He is in the Upper Room with the Apostles. He knows the hour has come and time is short. He warns them not to let the darkness overtake them. Don't let winter fall, don't let the nights get longer.

He tells them that they don't have to either. As long as they have the light and believe in the light they will be the children of the light of Christ. Christ shines then and he shines now in our lives as the true light. The light is always with us, we always have the light. We don't have to live in the darkness.

The darkness is a choice once you live in the light, but it's not a choice worth making. The darkness is the sign of those times when all we have we can lose. In the light, what we lose is not worth having in the first place. The light remains today. The best news is that as long as we walk in the light, we reflect the love of the one who shines the light for all to see. There is no better or easier way to share God's love than to shine God's light.

The Quiet Hours

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Psalm 46:10

“Be still, and know that I am God!
I am exalted among the nations,
I am exalted in the earth.”

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I'd like you to know
At four in the morning
Things are coming to mind
All I've seen all I've done
And those I hope to find

I'd like to remind you at four in the morning
My world is very still
The air is fresh under diamond skies
Makes me glad to be alive

"Blue Collar" by Bachman-Turner Overdrive written by C.F. Turner from BTO's self-titled first album.

This song with a great jazz riff was recorded by some heaviest gear-head guitar heroes ever to come out of the Great White North and kick guitar hero... well, you know what got kicked.

It's the reflections of a man working the graveyard shift. These are the folks who take care of the world so that we can sleep safe and sound. These are the folks who work the line building new cars or processing fresh food or keeping the light on at the motel. These are the folks who make the world clean for the people who mess it up all day long. These are the people who work under the light of every star in the galaxy mixed with electric candlelight.

For many, BTO sings of a man who has time to reflect on the world. He has time to see the world around him, and see it in ways that few others will. The world is very still.

There is something about working those still quiet hours. There is time to be still and know that the Lord is God.

Be still, and hear the words of the Holy Spirit. God has a plan for each and all of us. God is in control. God is exalted among the nations, God is exalted in the earth.

There is a time to be busy and take care of business, but there is also a time to be still. There is a time to reflect on all that is and all that was and all that ever will be. There is a time to be still and listen for the Word of God. Maybe your time is at four in the morning, maybe not. But the fresh air of life in Christ should make us all glad to be alive. If not, maybe it would be worth trying four in the morning under the diamond skies.