Faith Friday - Who's Afraid of the Dark?

FAITH FRIDAY

WHO'S AFRAID OF THE DARK?

For you are all children of light, children of the day.
(1 Thessalonians 5:5)

Read 1Thessalonians 5:1-11

One of the most important sets of lights in a theater are the emergency lights. While these are legally required to be in good working order, an experienced stage manager will have them checked regularly, just for peace of mind. After all, should the electricity fail during a show, hundreds of people would be stuck in the dark; in that darkness lives a stage manager's worst fear -- panic.

Groups of people panic in the dark because they fear the unknown. In a strange place, surrounded by unfamiliar people, we fear the worst will happen, and that it will catch us by surprise.

This is what Paul is getting at in this passage. He describes Christ's second coming and God's just judgment as being something that will catch the unbeliever off guard. It will come unexpectedly, "like a thief in the night." For the Christian, however, there is no surprise. While we do not know when judgment day will come, we rest easy knowing that Christ took our punishment on the cross so that we could be declared "not guilty" before God. It is the radiance of this truth that makes us "children of light, children of the day" who have nothing to panic about.

-- Rob Matthews

Prayer: Father God, thank you for the gift of your Son Jesus Christ, whose death paid the penalty for our sins and whose resurrection gives us the hope of a world reconciled to you. Amen.

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Fear of the unknown - isn't that what we all fear the most? As a child we are afraid of what might be lurking under the bed. It is dark under there, and most anything could be in that darkness, ready to grab our feet and pull us under with them. I would run and jump into bed and pull my feet up and under the covers as quickly as possible. Even though I knew there really wasn't anything under the bed, there was always a chance that I could be wrong.

But when we live in the midst of God's light, there is no need to fear what is in the darkness outside of the light, because that light is our protection. If we leave a nightlight on when we go to bed, whatever is hiding in the darkness cannot come out and expose itself.