We sang this song in church yesterday, and I was reminded as I have been over and over that God is not limited by raw materials when he creates. A few years ago I wrote a poem that says, no spark caught dry tinder, no switch sent electrons shooting through copper wire, before there was fire before there was sun, into the darkness God spoke, “let there be.”
And I wanted to share this vision that was triggered by this song, of light streaming out from the heart of a dark place. The world feels like darkness is creeping over it with war and rumours of war. ISIS gives us a common enemy but not necessarily a common cause to fight for. We can speak of unity and pray for unity, but the fact is humanity is divided. We seem to only have the capacity for so much love, so much compassion, and we ration it out disproportionately around the globe.
But when the sun rises, it does not discriminate who it shines on. For all the #prayfor______ posts I’ve seen this weekend, I hope people have actually taken time on their knees to interceed for Paris, for Beirut, for the world. We are up against a darkness that will consume us if we plan to resist it only by the glow of computer screens and the colour of our profile pictures. Light a candle. Pray in the real world to the God who created this earth for beauty, not for war. Imagine with me that the light of Christ will reach a modern day Saul of Tarsus who is holding the coats of murderers and breathing out threats and murder, that out of the darkness a light will shine. We pray for Christ to come and make things right, but his patience and our world’s suffering mean mercy for those who are still on their way to Jesus.
In our hearts, Lord, in the nations
Awakening