A woman stumbled in the dark and fell downstairs. Fortunately she was not injured too badly. I urged her to get some nightlights. Later she overheard me mention how on the way to the bathroom from the bedroom one night, I made a wrong turn and walked into a wall. “So where are your nightlights?” she knowingly asked with a twinkle in her eye.
The darkness of the Pharisees is easy to diagnose but what about our own? This was an argument, not a discussion. Rather than trying to understand what it might mean to follow Jesus, they preferred to try to trap him in legal arguments. Rather than be enlightened, they preferred to walk in darkness. Trying to control Jesus is like trying to put light in a box.
How many times when a discussion starts do we try to control the conversation by forcing our own opinions on the others rather than being willing to learn from each other? When things become too heated and extreme, it can lead to some very dark moments where some people even get crucified.
There is another way-Jesus’ way. It begins by following him and walking with the light of life.
Gracious God, when I start to wander into quarreling rather than discussing, please shine a little light on me. Amen. — KW