From the Pastor… 

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 3:12 

One of my adolescent memories is a spelunking adventure with my church’s youth group. For those who aren’t familiar with spelunking, it’s exploring wild, generally non-commercial, cave systems. It’s also known as caving. After crawling through numerous tight spaces our group ended up in a large cavern. Our leader asked us to turn off all our flashlights and headlamps. We sat for a while in utter darkness. I couldn’t even see my hand in front of my face. Eventually, our leader lit a candle. That single candle was able to emit enough light to penetrate the darkness and allow each of us to see each other and the walls of the cavern. By the end of our “devotional,” each of us had a lit candle and the darkness was completely dispelled. That experience was a vivid illustration of the power of light. 

The power of light! Light dispels darkness. Light illuminates. Light guides. Lighthouses still offer guidance to ocean-faring vessels. When I go camping with my boys, our flashlights guide us on the paths as we return to our cabins or tents. When Jesus says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life”, I believe he was extending an invitation to know God’s guidance. But how do we know God’s guidance? 

When I was an adolescent and into my twenties, I had a strong fear I could stray from God’s guidance, God’s path, or will for my life. This fear, which I long ago recognized as unhealthy, was rooted in my religious upbringing. I guess it’s why I appreciate the song, “Hold it Up to the Light” by David Wilcox so much. I love Wilcox’s spoken introduction to the song. He says, 

“This is a song about lifetime decisions, and it shows absolutely no trust whatsoever. In this song, I’m just scared. And I’m thinking. It’s a big decision. What if I do my best but make some slip? What if I set my life off in the wrong direction and it’s never the same afterward? I was thinking instead of the wonderful guidance I had come to trust, what if it was some sort of tricky thing, like a game show host sort of a God? Wilcox then imitates a ‘God Voice’, ‘Well, let’s see which one you’ve chosen. Oh no!’ Then a fear-filled response, ‘Wait, what did I say, door #2. I meant 1. What did I say?’ I was scared.” 

Wilcox goes on to quote Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken.” He concludes his intro by saying we have to choose, we have to trust. He says, “All I can do is ‘hold it up to the light’.” 

Wilcox’s words, both the intro and song, spoke greatly to me when I first heard them in my 20s. They still speak to me. His words provide an alternative image of God’s will, for God’s path. Instead of thinking this or that decision could lead me to be out of “God’s will for my life,” I came to believe God invites us to “hold ‘it’ up to the light.” What is ‘it’? Well, it could be a big life decision or a small decision. I think ‘it’ really means I hold my life up to God, to the light of the world, and say, “I’m trusting you to guide me. Let’s see where this next decision is going to take us together.” Instead of living in fear, I live trusting in God’s guidance. 

I pray during this Lenten season you will trust in God’s guidance in your life too. 

Pastor David