The Sunless

John 1:4-5 – “The Word gave life to everything that was created, and His life brought light to everyone. The light shines to the darkness and the darkness can never extinguish.”

What if there was no sun? What if every day of your life, you lived in complete, pitch black darkness? Could you imagine a life like that? Could you imagine never being able to see where you were going, what you were wearing, or who you were talking to?

Come with me to a place where light doesn’t exist. The people in this town are hopeless. They are hopeless because this town is ravaged by the things unseen – literally. They can’t see what is murdering other members of their society. They can hear them, and some say they’ve even been able to feel these awful creatures, but all they know is that these monsters are slowly and painfully destroying others in the town. They don’t know where these creatures could be hiding, because they can’t see where they are – they can barely make it to work in the morning, let alone back home at night. Their whole lives are filled with an inescapable fear of death. A gripping, terrible fear of the unknown. They wander aimlessly, hoping for some kind of aid to their sickness, but none is found.

Now imagine this: the Sunless people don’t even realize that the monsters are brutally killing those they kidnap from the town. In fact, they think that these monsters are saving those select few from the complete darkness of the town. However, they still live in a gripping fear of these monsters. But why? If the creatures are simply rescuing people from the utter darkness, why should they be afraid? Maybe it’s the story passed through the generations about the Man. You do know about the Man, don’t you? No? Well you’re in for a treat. This Man warned the Sunless about the creatures. This Man said that the creatures would only kill them. This is when they decided that the man should leave the town. He didn’t know what He was talking about anyway. How could He? The Sunless had heard that those monsters, though sickeningly disgusting, would gently whisper freedom to them. FREEDOM! They’d carry them off gently, but they would never return. It was selfish, really. Why wouldn’t the ones who were free bring back their freedom to share? Nevertheless, the Sunless found themselves just wishing for one of these horrid creatures to carry them off to freedom.

Now had the Sunless listened to this Man, they would’ve known that these creatures promise freedom, but they never follow through with this promise. And that those who are kidnapped aren’t actually kidnapped! These creatures have no power over these Sunless people. This is because the Man warned them but they didn’t listen. In fact, the creatures can only “kidnap” those who are willing to go to them, those who believe their deceiving promise. The Man offered salvation to the entire town before they asked Him to leave, but they were unresponsive. The Man never really left the town, He just watched, in anguish, waiting for one of them to remember Him. To remember HIS promise.

What happened to those that were carried away? Well, they were given a type of freedom, alright. Partial light. A strobe light, actually. This strobe light allowed them to see glimpses of what was around them. What was around them, you may ask? They were able to see the creatures for what they really were: disgusting, ugly, terrible, murderous beasts. The strobe made it hard for them to defend themselves, and eventually, they were back where they started. They began to lose their vision, and now they were unable to see the random attacks of the beast. They were helpless and hopeless.

In John 1:10, we see the very same type of story. If you haven’t figured it out, those of us who accepted the Man’s promise used to be Sunless, or rather, Sonless. Living in the darkness among the Sonless proved a very shameful, guilty, hopeless existence, and I would never want to go back. It is a blessing that the Man would never allow that to happen. If you haven’t realized it yet, this Man is Jesus Christ. He is the light of my soul. Those who walk in Him will never walk in darkness again (John 8:12). It’s important to realize that the state of the Sunless people was not a happy one. They lived in total fear their entire lives!

You probably don’t realize this, but I used to live there. (And no, I’m not talking about the vast Alaskan wilderness six months of the year.) I used to live in this terrible fear of anything and everything that I didn’t know about. Lately, I’ve been fascinated with the idea that Jesus is the light of the World. Have you ever thought about that? Jesus lights up the entire world. When He showed up to light up my soul, He brought with Him the joy of living a life with Him. A life in the light.

Recently, my brother and I started watching a show called “Fear Itself.” (We don’t watch it anymore, but it was one of those B-movie type scary shows, really lame, but scary nonetheless.) What made this show scary is that it was about situations that aren’t plausible; however, things happen every day. There aren’t body-switchers, but there are mass murderers and rapists and kidnappers, and honestly, those things scare me. They really, really scare me, actually. I have nightmares about things that are so dark, and it makes me anxious to know that that’s the state of the world.

What made a difference this past week is reminding myself that Jesus is not only the light of the world, but the light of my soul! That simple (yet very, very complex) fact helps me to realize that I don’t fight the darkness by myself. In fact, I have a very small part in fighting it – simply by believing that our God is bigger, stronger and higher than ANY other. So here’s a word of advice from someone who used to be Sonless – remember the Man’s promise. Remember that He loves you and wants you to come to Him. Remember that the life He offers is not an empty one. Live in the light.