I recently sacrificed 11 hours and 22 minutes of my life watching The Lord of the Rings Trilogy.
Again.
And that doesn't count food, ice cream, and potty breaks.
It is my "comfort-binkie" when I am weary of the world and the direction it is heading...when hope is fading and evil seems to be winning.
It reminds me that someday, Good will win...no matter how dark and hopeless things seem now.
So this morning as I was praying for the many people I know who are battling sickness of body, mind or spirit, I found myself saying...
"Don't let their light go out"...which is not something that I normally pray!
Instantly I was reminded of the scene in Lord of the Rings when Frodo receives the Light of Earendil from Galadrial...
"May it be a light to you in dark places, when all other lights go out."
Now, I don't pretend to be a Tolkien scholar...there are a bunch of those out there who have invested their lives in studying his writings.
And I am not one of them.
But I got to thinking about this idea of light and immediately one of my favorite passages in the Bible came to mind, John 1:1-5:
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself. He was in the beginning with God. And all things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him not even one thing was made that has come into being.
In Him was the life, and the life was the Light of me.
The Light shines on in the darkness, and the darkness did not understand it or overpower it."
"The Light shines on in the darkness, and the darkness did not understand it or overpower it."
Silly darkness! Not very smart or strong!
And that's what I want to encourage those with who are in darkness right now...
That as they walk through the valley of sickness, suffering, or death, there is a Light that goes before them...
With them...
Dispelling all the darkness of fear, doubt, and unknowing...
Lighting their way when all other earthly lights go out...lights such as...
Medical treatments that have been exhausted...
Friends and family that have not been all they needed...
Ruined finances...
Broken dreams.
There are so many lights flickering in all of our lives...as numerous as the stars in the heavens...
Tiny pinpoints of light we tend to follow and believe in, often without even realizing we are doing so...
That we can control our health...
Our wealth...
Our positions and situations in life.
Until the day comes that we discover the truth that we can't...
And then the lights flicker and fade and the darkness surrounds us.
And that's the glorious moment when we finally understand that there is a Light that will endure forever...
Jesus Christ, the Light of the World, who came into this world to dispel all darkness...
All other lights.
The Light of Christ will never go out.
We can stand on that truth.
Thank You. Praise God. And Amen.
photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/50943637@N05/16364985226">La comunidad del anillo</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(license)</a>
photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/53098051@N02/27198605574">Secret Spire</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/">(license)</a>
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