“LIGHT OUT OF DARKNESS, ORDER FROM CHAOS: DO IT AGAIN, LORD!”
“In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss, while a mighty wind swept over the waters.” (Genesis 1:1–2, The New American Bible)
“For God, who said, ‘Let there be light in the darkness,’ has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6, New Living Translation)
In my 3-minute retreat today, I read the following:
“Each of us knows the chaos of searching, wondering, and waiting for direction. In the Genesis story it is the Word of God that brings order, balance, and beauty to creation. We experience God’s presence in the created world. When we consider the beauty of the world and understand that “God saw how good it was” after each act of creation, we become increasingly aware that our special place in creation gives us unique dignity and value. In turn, we have both a responsibility to care for creation and give God praise and thanks.”
I immediately thought of that verse in 2 Corinthians that plays off of this same idea—at least the part about light. Paul takes these wonderful statements from Genesis—statements that relate to God’s creation of the universe—and compresses them into the human heart.
The human heart is, I believe, a very dark and chaotic place. At least, my own heart is. You also likely know the dark places in your own heart, the places that are too scary even for you to look into.
However, according to Paul, this is precisely the dark place that the light of Christ wants to shine. And, of course, it is in the darkness that light is needed. It is in the chaos that order is needed.
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