Darkness

I sat leaning against the rails of our front sidewalk steps.  Just over a block away, red and blue lights flashed as emergency and law enforcement vehicles converged on a sad, dark scene.

I tried to pray, but found myself detached--unable to pray with the passion the occasion warranted.  Acknowledging and despising the distance in my heart between the tragic scene and my personal sense of security, I sat until the last lights pulled away in silence. 

Above the scene, a crescent-shaped moon hovered protectively.

We went to bed.  Late.  I slept.  But this morning I knew there were families who didn't sleep.  Who COULDN'T sleep.  God is working on my hard heart.  This morning I remember the darkness of the night.

The whole world was lost in the darkness of sin;
  The light of the world is Jesus;
Like sunshine at noonday His glory shone in,
  The light of the world is Jesus.

    Come to the light, 'tis shining for thee;
    Sweetly the light has dawned upon me;
    Once I was blind, but now I can see;
      The light of the world is Jesus. 

(from the gospel song "The Light of the World is Jesus")

You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.  No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.  (Jesus, in Matthew 14:14-16)

 "Let my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God."  (Bob Pierce)