Contributed by ~ Dylan Harper ~ April 2, 2019
Darkness.
Is it really all that bad?
Hear me out…
John the beloved liked to use the light vs. dark metaphor [a lot] when sharing his accounts of the gospel message shared through Jesus. It would seem as though his audience understood the difference between these two contrasting images on a physical level, which is why he must have used it on a spiritual level to emphasize the good vs. evil analogy, explaining that:
- Light was the life of men [John 1:4, 1:9, 8:12, 9:5, 12:36, etc…]
- Darkness was the absence of light [John 1:5, 3:19, 8:12, 11:10, 12:35, etc…]
According to John,
‘In him (Jesus) was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.’ [John 1:4 ~ NIV]
One of the simplest ways to describe darkness is by suggesting it is the absence of light, which according to John meant the absence of life. The ‘life’ John and Jesus spoke of referred to eternal life, that which is offered through the bridge that Jesus created in his sacrificial death and resurrection.
Therefore, if light = life, then clearly darkness = death, right?!
Sure.
But let’s look a little deeper…
Personally, the misunderstanding I’ve typically made with darkness in terms of John’s spiritual metaphor, and partly why I think it’s got itself such a bad reputation, is in my connecting it to sin. Since becoming a Christian I’ve always thought and said that living in darkness is to live in sin. I’m sure you’ve thought and heard the same thing. But on further reflection, I’m not so confident that darkness directly correlates with committing sins, but rather has more to do with simply rejecting God’s message of eternal life in heaven, thus accepting an eternal life of death in hell.
Strong language, I know.
But stay with me…
The interesting thing is that in the physical, darkness is needed in order to make light, and light is needed in order to live. So, that then leads me to believe that darkness is necessary, and perhaps darkness isn’t really all that bad after all. I mean if darkness is needed in order to make light, in the physical realm, does it make sense then to suggest that darkness (death) is needed in order to accept light (life)? Technically speaking, we are all born into a dying world of darkness because of original sin and then brought into life through the light of God’s grace – a.k.a. Jesus Christ.
Are you picking up what I’m putting down?
Consider this for a moment…
Before the beginning of anything, right there alongside God, that’s all there was. Darkness. Physically, it didn’t seem to be bad at that point, but then God spoke, and there it was – light. Now don’t hear me wrong, I’m not suggesting anything that goes against God’s Word in any way, in fact I respect, believe, and even preach the ‘from darkness into light’ metaphor that Jesus spoke of all so often. And if you’re unsure of my integrity or stance, or think perhaps I’m venturing into heresy, feel free to check out a recent sermon I preached on this topic [Paul and a Pin] and hear my version of dark vs. light as powerful imagery in both the physical and spiritual realm in terms of good vs. evil.
So, where am I going with this here exactly?
Please, keep reading, I’m getting there…
You see, personally, I like darkness… in the physical. Let me be crystal clear that what I don’t like is the absence of eternal life that darkness implies spiritually [a.k.a. eternal death], but in the physical realm I find darkness peaceful, creative, compelling even. When I look at things in darkness, I see nothing, therefore I’m left with only my imagination, my thoughts, my conscious, and what I find is stillness and beauty in its presence. It allows my mind to wander, to dream, and to consider the bigger things in life, things that are mostly unseen.
Are you still unsure?
Consider the fact of why we have darkness at nighttime? Nothing in the created universe was random or by accident. God created the solar system and the alignment of the planets in a certain way that gives us night – gives us natural darkness in a physical way. I’m going to take a ‘shot in the dark’ and suggest that the portion of our 24-hour daily life cycle that is darkness was created for a reason, by God. It has purpose, and if God has given something purpose, then it deserves a little credit.
So, why is darkness believed to be such a bad, scary, evil thing?
Surely darkness isn’t just a scary, fearful place where evil resides and bad things happen, such as is evidently portrayed in every horror movie [or Disney movie for that matter]. Without darkness, how could we ever stare up into the infinite sky in awe and wonder, gazing upon the sea of stars and galaxies that God so wondrously created? If it wasn’t for darkness, how would we ever even know how to appreciate the light?
Is it really that bad?
How then did darkness, way back in the 1st century, already have such a bad reputation that it was commonly understood and used as a metaphor to compare two contrasting things such as good vs. evil and life vs. death?
Honestly, I really don’t have the answer.
Do you?
You know, maybe we shouldn’t hate on it as much as we do. Spiritually, as a metaphor sure, hate away, but in the physical, maybe we should consider a different approach. Maybe we should try embracing the beauty that can be found in the darkness, for God has truly created all things for a purpose, even things that the enemy has tried to steal and take for his own.
But let me attempt to be as clear as I can one last time: On a spiritual level, do not – I mean DO NOT – love the darkness and DO NOT choose to live in darkness, but rather accept the fact it exists, embrace it for what its purpose is, choosing instead to live a BRIGHT LIFE in its midst. Doing so may even help draw those loving and living in darkness, out in to the shining light of Christ, helping call them out of darkness [death] and into light [life], the light of mankind, the eternal life that is ONLY found in Jesus Christ.
So, next time you read the gospel, and Jesus says to you…
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” [John 8:12 ~ NIV]
…remember that you are the light (life) of the world and you have the power to draw people out of darkness (death) into eternal life. And next time you find yourself in the physical presence of darkness, take a moment and reflect on your surroundings, let your mind wander and consider some of the greater things in life that aren’t seen in the light of day, because darkness really isn’t all that bad. It’s necessary for the existence of light, physically, and it’s necessary for the existence of eternal life, spiritually.
Darkness.
It really isn’t all that bad…
CONTRIBUTOR ~ Dylan Harper
HARP & STONES 
Interesting read. Keep writing Dylan!
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Greetings! Very helpful advice in this particular article! It is the little changes that produce the most important changes. Thanks a lot for sharing!
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What an ignorant post. And white men wrote the bible. Darkness is not bad at all, it’s good. When has the night dark sky ever done any harm to people or any other living thing? When has the dark night sky caused evil to people or to any other living thing? NEVER. Therefore evil shouldn’t be associated with darkness. People of all colors, especially the light pale pink white ones, are the ones who are evil, not the dark night sky. White people hanged people on trees, lynched, murdered, steal, etc., and these are pale white pink people. The bible was written in favor of white pink pale people, that’s why there’s such talk about light and darkness, which makes no sense. Now the part in the bible about God, Jesus, etc., I believe is true, but I believe not all of it is true, because white pale racist people wrote the bible. They’re jealous, that’s why they tan to be darker. Also, no one can ever rob a bank, etc., in complete darkness, you need a flashlight to see, so light helps people create crime also. In complete darkness you wouldn’t know where you’re going. So I just debunked that lie, that bad stuff happen at night, and lightness has nothing to do with bad things that happen. There’s street lights, flashlights, etc., to see at night. And again, it’s not the darkness itself that is evil, because the night dark sky just sets there in innocence, it’s people who try to take advantage of the dark night, to do harm, it’s the evil people, not the night. Also again, people need light in the night, to see to do harm as well. But neither the night sky or light from a flashlight does harm to people, it’s the evil people who take advantage of the night and light from flashlights to do harm. The dark night sky allows beauty rest, peace, rejuvenation, and growth, that’s all the night provides and does, no evil, nothing but goodness. This is the reality of nature, so who cares what the man made written bible book says, because it doesn’t line up with reality.
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