Lights in the Darkness

I went camping the other day at this great little wilderness camp ground just west of Harrisonburg in the George Washington National Forest. I have wanted to get out for quite some time and just be alone with God in the middle of the woods and I finally decided that I was just going to go and do it.  I got off of work at 6 and by the time I had all my stuff crammed into my pack and swung by Food Lion to pick up some stuff to eat on my adventure it was pushing dusk.  When I turned on to 33 west the sun was a big orange ball that was slowly sinking behind the distant mountains.  I knew that I would have to get there quickly or else I was going to have to set up camp in the dark and spend the night in a place that I had never seen in the light of day, a scary prospect for someone that still has a deep fear of the dark.  I managed to not get lost and Lucy (my truck) managed to get down the back country roads fast enough to let us pull into the camp ground (I use that term loosely) with just enough time to set up my tent before the last few rays of light gave way to the cool clear darkness of a Virginia night. 

With my tent set up and my sleeping gear stowed safely in it I set to the tasks of getting some dinner ready to quench my grumbling stomach and lighting a fire to clam my fear of the dark.  My MSR Pocket Rocket fired right up and soon I had a delicious dinner of spinach and broccoli noodles with chunk light tuna boiling away in the pot.  The next task was to start a fire.  Fortunately the last people that has stayed at the sight had left some nice fire wood and it didn’t take me long to have the pine logs crackling away in the stone ring.  Soon I was alone in the woods surrounded by tall pines that reached like fingers into the clear starry night sky, eating my stoup (soup + stew = stoup, a slightly thicker that soup slightly thinner than stew concoction that hits the spot when you are out for a wilderness adventure) and gazing contentedly into my little fire, lost in the crackling of the sap and the dancing of the yellow and orange flames.  

In the midst of the simple beauty of that moment I began to think about the lessons that were there in the woods just waiting to be understood.  I began to think about the darkness, not out of fear but out of wonder.  Darkness lends its self so well to spiritual parallels that something had to be waiting to be discovered.  I thought about the fire that I had started.  In order to find something small enough to catch fire from my little wad of paper I had to venture down a path into the woods to pick up some dry twigs.  Fear had gripped my heart as I got farther into the darkness away from the camp site.  Then I looked back at my stove, there it was a little blue flame glowing brightly in the darkness a point of refuge for my fearful heart. As I though of this I looked up through the trees and could see the stars above shining brightly in the cool night air.  Thinking on these lights brought my mind around to this season of life that God is leading me through. 

I have always found it easy to be a star, shining brightly among other stars.  From places like camp and church or the college ministry I had been involved in it was always so easy to “let my light so shine before men.”  I think that we would all agree to that, being a light for Christ is always so much easier when we have back up, we have others around us who are shining to.  If we confront darkness it is because darkness has come into our area of light not because we have gone out into the darkness.  Like when a person who does not know Christ comes to camp or church.  It is easy to shine before them because everyone around us is shining to.  So often we join together so much that we become like the Milky Way, not that being together with other believers is a bad thing we just tend to stay there. 

Christ however commanded that we go out into the darkness.  The children of Israel were supposed to be a light to the world, a nation that burned so brightly for God that other nations would see and believe.  But with the new covenant God has set forth a new plan to shine His light into this darkened world.  His command to us, His Church, was not to build a Christian nation but to go out into the darkness, like sheep among wolves, carrying the light of life.  We are to be like my stove, shining brightly in the darkness.  There wasn’t any other light around just that small blue flame but it was enough to draw me back to the campsite, enough to calm my fear, a wonderful comfort in the thick darkness of those woods. 

Now I am not saying that we should not spend time together or that the many ways that we meet together are a bad thing.  My stove needed the light of my lighter to get it going, and we need the fellowship of others to encourage us.  The Bible warns, and even commands us to not forsake the gathering of ourselves together.  But so often we gather so much that we forget to go, or when we do go we are in no small hurry to get back in amongst the other lights.  Darkness can truly be a scary thing to confront, especially when you are the only light around.  However the beautiful truth is that when you shine forth like a light in the darkness you stand as a beacon to draw others from out of that darkness.  Just as I was looking for a light to draw me back to my campsite so others that are lost are seeking and longing to find the light of truth, the light that we have in our hearts.  It is not easy, and this season of my life is teaching me that.  I have been removed from my comfort zones of the “ministry” and thrown out into the darkness but God is faithful and he is teaching me how to shine!