Running in the Dark

                During the fall of the year, the days begin to get shorter and darkness descends early. This poses a problem for the avid runner. It becomes a race against the setting sun to get a run in before darkness shrouds the trail. Soon the race is lost and what is left is running in the dark.

                I strapped on my headlamp, adjusted by reflective vest, and headed out into the night. There was no moon, so the darkness was complete. The thin beam of my headlamp could illuminate only a small space in front of me; just enough space for my next footfall. Ahead of me, I could see the cars rushing past on the highway, but the blacktop in front of me was invisible. I turned the corner at the end of my driveway onto the short, dangerous stretch of highway that would lead me to the trail. There, illuminated by the lights of passing cars, I was able to see more of the features of the road. After a short distance, I crossed the road and descended onto the bike path. Separated from the roadway, with no streetlights, the bike path lay before me dark and black. If it were not for my headlamp, this run would be impossible.

                It is scary running in the dark. My daughter and I tried it once. We just ran to the end of our driveway and back; a distance of half a mile. I knew the driveway intimately. I had walked it many times in the daylight. But in the dark it was transformed into something unknown. My running became more and more tentative. I was unsure of my next step. Not being able to see what was right in front of me, I stumbled; over nothing. The darkness transforms the familiar into the unknown. At the end of our driveway, we stopped and walked back to the house. Our feet glided forward with tentative steps, rather than striding forward with confidence.

                We are running the race of life in the dark. At best, we can see what is immediately before us, but no more. We cannot see what is around the next corner. We can speculate about tomorrow or next year, but in reality they are shrouded in complete darkness. We blindly push forward, hoping for the best. In the darkness we often stumble and sometimes fall. We are tripped up by real obstacles and imagined ones. In the darkness, reality is twisted and misshapen. Some attack the darkness with boldness, while others become tentative, and some are immobilized. Without some kind of light to guide our way, we are hopelessly doomed to stumble through life.

                Many people are facing the darkness with faulty headlamps. They may be trusting in politics, philosophy, religion or even science. These things give some light, but not enough. They are like dim headlamps, whose beam barely makes it to the ground. The illumination that they give, compared to the vast darkness around us, is barely enough to make it possible to take the next step. At best, they can illuminate what is immediately in front of us, but are hopeless the illuminate beyond that with any certainty.

                There is a source of light that has the power and intensity to pierce the darkness. The beam of this light illuminates the path before us, so that we can run with boldness. That light is found in God’s Word. King David expressed the power of that light when he wrote these words in Psalm 119:105. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” The word of God has the power to illuminate the dark corners of our world. It helps us to see life more clearly. It illuminates both good and evil. It alerts us to the obstacles in our way and gives us the confidence to face them. Like my headlamp, it allows us to see what is before us and run with boldness.

                The word of God is revealed in the Bible, but it is not limited to the pages of an inanimate book. The Word of God is personified in the person of Jesus Christ. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

                The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:1-5, 14

                Jesus came into the word to invite us to come out of the darkness and live in the light. He demonstrated what it means to live in the light. He issued an open invitation for all who will to join him in the light. By putting our faith in Jesus, we can run our race of life in the light.

                This is a light that will not grow dim or burn out. It is an eternal light the remains intense and piercing, no matter how dark the world gets. In fact, as the world gets darker, the light grows brighter. Through the Holy Spirit this light becomes a very part of our being. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:6

                We have a choice to make. Will we keep running in the darkness, or will we run in the light? We enter the light by putting our faith in Jesus, but we run in the light by daily choosing to follow him. John clearly sets the choice before us. This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 1 John 1:5-7

                Running in the dark is scary and unpredictable. Running in the light gives us confidence and hope. Jesus invites us to run in His light.