Something sruck me today as I was studying. It wasn't a particularly revelatory moment or anything, just something I found interesting. In Isaiah 21:11-12, I read this,
"Watchman, what is left of the night? Watchman, what is left of the night?" The watchman replies, "Morning is coming, but also the night."
Morning is coming, but also the night. That seems to be a fairly enigmatic statement, yet one that drips with truth if you really let it soak in. That's how life works isn't it? Everything is bright and sunny, and yet, evening and darkness is inevitable. Every bit of daylight must be balanced equally with the same amount of darkness. When God created everything, his recipe read, " one part light, one part darkness." If you look at the creation story, at the end of every "day" it reads this, "And there was evening, and there was morning..." It seems that from the beginning, God wanted to get the point across that there had to be equal parts light and darkness for the universe to function as it should.
In the verse from Isaiah the watchman lets everyone know that morning was here, but darkness loomed in the distance. This would seem a good warning for us to all heed. Maybe when we're going through crap and times of night and darkness, it would help for us to realize that this is how the world is. It isn't that God delights in our suffering, maybe our suffering is just part of the created order of the universe. For every light, there must be darkness as a counterbalance.
Perhaps what we really need isn't another Joel Osteen self-help book to show us how to always be happy, maybe we should embrace the darkness (doesn't mean we have to necessarily enjoy it) as God's natural creative work in us to bring us to the perfection he desires from his creation. May we embrace our times of darkness as necessary parts of life, and may God say of us, "and it was good."
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6 comments:
Okay, you dirty heretic, it's time for the real theologian in the family to hand you your butt on a platter.
I agree with your thoughts that darkness is an inevitable part of life. But, be careful with the light counterbalancing the darkness idea because that borders closely on Taoism and the all that yin-yang garbage: a little bit of evil in every good; a little good in every evil. Remember that when he seperated the light from the darkness it was only the light that he called "good", not the darkness. Suffering was not part of the original order of things if you recall. It was only after the Fall that God laid the smack-down (read "curse") on all of creation, thus suffering was aloud to enter the world.
The world certainly operates in this fashion now, so you are correct on that account. And you are right about us embracing the darkness, though not necessarily for the sake of embracing it. That makes you a masochist (and a little Buddhist, too--minus the belly of course). Embracing what God can and does do redemptively in the midst of that darkness is what is important about suffering. Sort of the whole point to the resurrection. When Satan looks like he's finally had his day, God redeems Jesus from the grave and hands Satan his butt with a side of burning sulfure.
At any rate, good thoughts on that verse and you can do whatever you want with my thoughts.
Don't hate me because I'm smarter than you.
i wasn't saying that darkness was good in any way. i was merely stating that it is an inevitable part of life. in the same way that every day must come to an end in darkness, so every "day" in us, must come to an end (until Jesus returns of course). one thing i forgot to mention was that one of God's favorite things to do is bring a sunrise into the darkness of our lives. i'm not sure about the taoism comment, i don't think i ever hinted at there being a little bit of good in bad stuff. i was just saying that it seems like every time i have a light time in my life, darkness follows.
"equal parts light and darkness for the universe to function as it should."
that's where the taoism comment came from. i know aren't espousing that at all, that's just how i would take it if i was a new age nutcase. i was playing devil's advocate.
Good thoughts from Isaiah...agree that as long as we're in this fallen world we will experience darkness.
One of the huge things I've learned while going through my intense period of grief - - is this world is a messed up place. Yes, it is the same messed up place it was a few months ago when I was going cheerily around quoting a "Scripture a day" to people who had 'problems' and my world was going along peachy...but something happens when your world suddenly changes and you are flat on your face before God. You begin to see how hurting most of the world is. When people realize you are broken and 'aware'/understanding of their needs/pain - - they suddently start sharing things with you. I never really knew before like I do now how messed up this place is.
I have a new prayer for my life right now - during this particular stage. I am praying that God will allow me the privilege of being fruitful during my pain. In her book, When I Lay My Isaac Down, Carol Kent reminds us about when Joseph took his sons Manasseh and Ephraim to Jacob for a blessing before he died. Manasseh means "it is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father's household"...and he was the oldest son who should have received the greater blessing - - but Joseph deliberately chose Ephraim for the lead blessing...his name means "because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering"..in Hebrew it means "double fruit". Why would Joseph cross his arms and give the younger boy the greater blessing? Maybe it is because getting "over" a painful past is great - - but being fruitful in suffering (being an Ephraim) brings glory to God because it is miraculous. Only God can fill the deep black hole of pain and make a person productive when the unimaginable has happened to them.
I am asking God to make me an "Ephraim"....
Great thoughts and very well said. May God show you the morning.
Brad
dang, those are great thoughts. it's easy in ministry, as it is for every Christian not acquainted with suffering, to throw verses around like they're band-aids, when the hurting one is missing an arm. they're bleeding to death and we're giving them peroxide and some gauze to clean up the mess.
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