And the Lord said, "Let there be light"

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  Driving with my good friend Tori Schippers on Sunday evening, we got ready to turn right at a light. As she looked left, Tori commented that the sun was shining bright in her eyes. While I cannot remember word-for-word what I said, it was something to the effect of:


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  “And the Lord said, ‘Let there be light—and then it blinds us.’”


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  Well, we both just kinda sat there, like ‘whoa, what WAS that?’ Definitely a Holy Spirit thing. I had not planned to say it, but when it came out of my mouth, the words made a lot of sense.


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  Think about it.


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  God has so many incredible graces that He pours down on us, and so many truths—glorious truths about His will, His mercy, His love. And it blinds us. We are mere humans, living in the darkness of sinful lives. And then this incredible light of Christ breaks forth.


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  I liken it to being in a movie theater: You’re in this insanely dark room. At the end, if you go quickly out of a nearby exit into the daylight, the sun blinds you.


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  You have been in the darkness, and are not accustomed to the immense light of Christ. So at first, you are completely blinded by the light of Christ. His light may come in the form of a sudden realization, profound truths being made clear, His works and movements in your life…just to name a few examples. And when these things happen, we can become blinded by the light of Christ, because we cling to our sin, we cling to that little bit of darkness.


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  Have you noticed how desensitized our world has become to evil? Here’s a little example: I am sorry to say that when I watch movies now, I can easily just tune out the dialogue when I hear the F word (really, people, just say another word…fudge sickle? I don’t know!). Well anyway… Just a few years ago, I would basically freak out when I heard that word. But now, due to the world letting ungodly words, phrases, actions, etc. run around, us Catholics can easily let that little bit of darkness creep into our lives. We let in the darkness of sin…and then Christ blinds us with His light.


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  When this light comes, we have a couple ways we could react: we could cover our faces with our hands, to block out the intensity of the light; then we just go crawling back to our dark corner in comfort. OR, we could squint, and gradually—ever so gradually—open our eyes up more (even if it may seem difficult), and see the light of Christ.


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  When one decides to live in the light of Christ, their whole life changes. Have you ever noticed that when you’ve been outside for a while in the bright sunshine, then go into a dark-ish room, you are a bit blinded by the contrast? It’s the same thing when you live in the light of Christ. Once you’ve been in Christ’s light, if you go into the darkness, you’re unable to fully see or grasp the evil, because the light has changed your vision, your perception. But instead of running away from the darkness into your little corner of light and staying there, you run back to your corner of light, soak up some grace and light, and dash back—spreading light into the darkness.


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  “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; Upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone.” ~ Isaiah 9:1