The Mission of Life and finding Light in Dark Corners

While praying this morning I found myself being lead to this train of metaphorical thought.
“I’ve been calling your name over and over, I’m holding the door open but you won’t come in. I know you hear me because you look toward me. You’re too busy out playing spotlight in the dark, come here in the light where you can see”.

I spent a night on the town with a friend of mine a few weeks ago. This friend is the complete polar opposite of me; she does not hold herself accountable and is not a practicing member of her faith. Yet, I see goodness in her…we were on Water Street and we watched a magician perform a few card tricks. I noticed her speaking with another girl in the crowd. I couldn’t hear what they were talking about but I caught the end of the conversation, “My God, ________ you need to get some help and get your life straightened out, I don’t want to hear of anything bad happening to you. Take care of yourself.” My friend told me that she went to school with the girl and that she was living on the street and addicted to cocaine and heroin.

I was moved by that experience and perplexed. My friend who denounces religion showed a merciful act of kindness in her words to that girl on the street. Another example are two friends of mine who are married and have a child but have big issues with organized religion. They never go to church and the guy says he believes in a higher being but will not allow himself to be dictated on what he should or should not believe. Despite all this – they are the most Christian people I know. They live freely without attending church or following church teaching yet they live out fully Christian ideals (maybe subconsciously).

In THEOLOGY: A Very Short Introduction , David ford says, “ So even those who think they have left their family or their faith, usually go on being influenced by it, and generally need something like another family or another faith in order to live a satisfactory life.” I think that over the course of people’s lives that leave their faith, there exist some residual elements of the faith they were raised with. Our lives are affected by everything we read, by everything we learn. My point – there is good in everyone no matter what state they are in.


Luke 4: 14-21
14And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district.
15And He began (teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all.
16And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.
17And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written,
18"( THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME,
BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR.
HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES,
AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND,
TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED,
19TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD."

20And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him.

21And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

22And all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips; and they were saying, " Is this not Joseph's son?"

23And He said to them, "No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we heard was done at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.'"

24And He said, "Truly I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown.

25"But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land;

26and yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.

27"And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian."

28And all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things;

29and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff.

30But passing through their midst, He went His way.