ACUSTOMED TO THE DARKNESS

And this is the judgment: the light
has come into the world, and
people loved the darkness rather
than the light because their works
were evil. John 3:19
Ask an American for a symbol which
represents freedom and most will
mention the Statue of Liberty or the
Liberty Bell.
Ask a Frenchman the same
question and he will probably speak
of the Bastille.
Originally built as a fortress during
the Hundred Years' War, the
Bastille Saint-Antoine was
transformed into a prison, a place
where political undesirables were
sent. It was commonly felt that folks
who went in never came out.
That's why when the leaders of the
French Revolution were looking for
a cause around which they could
rally the people, freeing the poor
souls of the Bastille became a top
priority. Indeed, the day the
Bastille's prisoners were liberated
continues to be regarded as the
birthday of freedom in France.
Now I know you won't be surprised
if I tell you there is a rest of the
story.
It seems that one prisoner, a man
who had been locked in his cell for
years, was also released. The crowd
expected to see the man's heart
filled with joy and his face beaming
with uncontrolled gratitude. That's
what they expected, but that's not
what happened.
The man, accustomed to the dark,
immediately put his head down and
tried to shield his eyes from the
sun's glare. Then, almost without
hesitation he begged to be taken
back to his hole. It was obvious, his
heart had only one desire: to die in
the darkness.
How's that for a sad story?
Even worse, on a spiritual level, that
man's story is constantly being
repeated.
For almost 2,000 years the Gospel
has been preached. By the Holy
Spirit's power, hundreds upon
hundreds of millions have been
brought to faith and acknowledged
Jesus Christ as their personal
Savior from sin and as the living
Light of a sin-stained world.
Sadly -- and you can see them in
the evening news -- there are
those who love the darkness. God
is reaching out to them, but they
slap His hand away. Jesus died to
save them, but they would rather
live for themselves. They love the
darkness and want nothing to do
with the light.
Many years ago, I had a seminary
professor who said, "Every man has
the God-given right to go to hell if
he wishes." These people, the
people of the darkness, are making
use of that right. This is why we
need to remember these people in
our prayers. We remember those
we see on the news, and we
remember those who are closer --
who are much closer -- to us our
friends and loved ones.