My Inbox of Daily Inspirations: Daily Heartlight -- February 26, 2008

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February 26, 2008

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=========================== TODAY'S ARTICLE ==========================

Light for Living, by Rubel Shelly

When I was a boy of about ten, my mother and father took me to Carlsbad
Caverns. I still remember the gigantic stalagmites and stalactites. I
can almost feel the cold of being deep inside the earth on a hot summer
day. But my most vivid memory is of the moment our guide had all of us
find a place to sit down and -- after warning of what was about to
happen – turned off all the electric lights that had been put inside
the dark belly of the earth.

I felt like I was tumbling head over heels. My heart raced. With one
hand I grasped the rock ledge on which I was sitting and with the other
reached for my father.

Fortunately, the tour guide didn't allow it to last long. He turned on
his flashlight. And it looked as bright as a million candle-power
searchlight!

An ordinary flashlight that costs $3.00, complete with batteries, can
push back the encompassing, frightening darkness of Carlsbad Caverns. A
beam that would be hardly noticeable at ground level on a sunny day
looks like a laser in deep darkness. As soon as it appeared, my stomach
gave up its tumbling sensation. My lunch became stable again.

Jesus is still the Light of the World.

I could see my parents' faces in outline again and knew I wasn't alone.
I sensed that the single light in our guide's hand heralded the return
of the lights which had guided us previously and whose presence we had
taken for granted.

When God created Planet Earth for our habitation, he came onto a scene
that was formless and dark. He pushed back the darkness with light,
then set about to bring order to chaos. It takes light for life to
survive and thrive.

When Jesus was re-creating the human race and restoring hope to
despairing people, he came onto a scene made formless and dark again.
This darkness had come by human rebellion against his Father and
humanity's inhumanity to its own. In his birth, teaching, lifestyle,
and personal victory over death in the resurrection, he pushed back the
darkness with the light of heaven's bright glory. To use John's
language, Jesus was the light shining into our darkness; the darkness
could not conquer the light he brought.

If you ever feel the head-over-heels sensation that comes of being in
the deep darkness, look in his direction. Jesus is still the Light of
the World. And it is only in the presence of light that you can live,
grow, and flourish.

"I am the world's Light," Jesus said. "No one who follows me
stumbles around in the darkness. I provide plenty of light to live
in" (John 8:12 MSG).

---------
(c) 2008 Used by permission. From Rubel Shelly's "FAX of Life"
printed each Tuesday. See Faith Matters for previous issues of
the "FAX of Life."

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Daily Heartlight -- February 26, 2008