The Darkness Cure
The Darkness Cure
“Several years back, I baptized a man and his testimony was he realized he needed to be saved, because he looked at all the broken relationships and turmoil of his life. And for years he was always blaming someone or something else. But he realized that all this brokenness had one thing in common. Him. He was the problem. You’ve heard it like this: hurt people, hurt people. Broken people, break other people.” – Tony Walliser
Read Romans 3:9-21
I know that I don’t have the answers about how to fix the ills of this world or our society for that matter, especially a world (and society) where love, human life, and truth seem to mean so little.. and hate, rage, and darkness seem to run so deep.
But I think I know where to start…
It starts with faith, hope, and love…
It continues with you and me…with us.
It’s forged ahead by stepping up and shining a light into the darkness and truly loving the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength…and then, loving our neighbor as ourselves.
Darkness is defined as the absence of light. Light cannot be extinguished by darkness.
“Paul says we are swift to shed blood. But we go, ‘Well that doesn’t apply to me, I have never murdered anyone.’ Maybe not physically. But you let someone else get what you want–let them get the promotion, or the recognition, or the relationship, that you think you deserve; let their kids get the honors we want for our kid. We don’t get excited for them. We struggle with hating them, even wishing harm on them. Our ears perk up when we hear somebody criticizing them. Jesus said we murder in our hearts.” – Tony Walliser
We have to repent and change our hearts and our mindsets. And then that moves to loving action…we have to act to bring about change.
But if love changes things… what is love?
After you read today’s passage below through the first time, how would you define love?
Now, let’s try something a bit different…
Every time that you see the words “LOVE” and “IT” replace them with your name.
For example, “Love is patient. Love is kind,” becomes, “Marty is patient. Marty is kind,” when I do it.
Does that change the definition any?
Does that change our perspective on what love is?
Does that resonate within us anywhere at all?
What jumps out at you?
What doesn’t fit?
Where are the gaps?
Does it define me even when I’m angry, frustrated, disappointed, scared?
Can I make that a part of who I am?
Do/can/will people see the love in me?
Now read it a third time. This time, replace “LOVE” and “IT” with “JESUS.”
“Jesus is patient. Jesus is kind.”
How does that change things?
Love Defined.
May He be the CURE for our DARKNESS
1 Corinthians 13:1-8a and 13
“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”