When my granddaughter was not yet quite 4, my son-in-law and I thought it would be a good idea to take her to the theater for a piece of cinematic fluff the name of which has since left my mind. We had talked about the possibility that at her tender age it might be scary if something dangerous happened in the movie—you know, like a cotton ball landing on a cloud—but we decided to take the risk.
Fortunately, nothing in the movie frightened her. No. The moment the theater’s lights dimmed, she melted into a puddle of terrified toddler, and we went home for bright sunshine playtime without even seeing a preview.
A Psalm of David opens this way: The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; there is none who does good. God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one. An interpretation: People see evil and say there is no God. God sees people and says there is no good.
From Luke’s Gospel: Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” An interpretation: Those mistakenly deemed most righteous among God’s people say to Jesus, “Where is God while all this oppression and evil is happening to us; and when is He finally coming to make things right?” And Jesus’ answer: “You’re asking me why God’s kingdom isn’t here yet? It’s supposed to be in you.”
Genuinely discouraging things happen in the world every day. Anyone who has attended a funeral for a tiny, abbreviated life can attest so, as can the rest of us for 1 reason or 80 others. One response, even for believers, is to wonder with doubt and fear why God hasn’t made things right yet. But that response misses the entire nature of faith in this world. It’s like choosing to go to the theater but abandoning all hope when the lights dim. The fear may be justified, but the darkness is exactly why we chose the light, and the context within which God shows that light to others through us.
So instead, I pray we make His kingdom prominently visible this week—in the work we do, the service we provide, and the prayers we offer—in what would otherwise be a very big, dark, scary room.
To a week of faithful light!