VBS: The Light Shines in the Darkness...
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not defeated it.” John 1:5 You might think that the most-repeated command in the Bible is “Do not sin….” Actually, “Do not fear,” and its sibling command to have hope, appear many more times than anything about sin—I count at least 103 times the Bible says, “Do not fear!” In the end, I’m sure that the opposite of faith is not unbelief, but fear. Fear paralyzes us, fear causes us to be blinded to the humanity of others, and, most importantly, fear destroys hope. Christian hope is not optimism—not a childish wish-fulfillment dream that we’ll get a magic wand and, poof, everything will be pink and blue flowers. Christian hope is a life lived in the certain knowledge that although there is darkness, the Light of God will never be put out, and eventually the earth will be filled with the light and glory of God as the waters cover the sea. Think about the best “children’s” literature and movies—The Lion King…Harry Potter…The Lord of th