BLACKNESS

I Was Just Thinking About – BLACKNESS.

This past week I went to a Men’s Shop looking for a Black Suit. I learned that there are different variations of Black. Most stores now sell Suits as separates so that men of varying proportions can get a more exact fit. The problem one encounters is that there are different shades of Black and the lighting in the store affects the true color-coordination. The stores cannot allow one to carry the garments outside into the natural light where the best color-coordination could be realized.

Mark 4:35-39 gives the account of a storm at sea where Jesus is asleep in the stern of the ship and the disciples cannot overcome the effects of the storm. They awaken Him and ask: “Master, don’t you care that we are perishing?” A Hymn was written in 1874 by Mary A. Baker based upon this text. Some of the Lyrics are:

Master, the tempest is raging!

The billows are tossing high!

The sky is overshadow with blackness,

No shelter or help is nigh;

Carest Thou not that we perish?

How canst Thou lie asleep,

When each moment so madly is threatening

A grave in the angry deep?

Perhaps you have experienced situations where your sky is over-shadowed by blackness and there seems to be no immediate shelter or help for you. Jesus arose from His sleep and stilled the storm. The Hymn captures that moment in the Refrain:

The winds and the waves shall obey Thy will, 

Peace, be still!

Whether the wrath of the storm tossed sea,

Or demons or men, or whatever it be

No waters can swallow the ship where lies

The Master of ocean, and earth, and skies;

They all shall sweetly obey Thy will,

Peace, be still! Peace, be still!

There is a reason why conflicts occur one’s life and in current times. It is due to the persistence of wrong choices. John 3:16-21 is a familiar passage that tells us “why” chaos becomes the norm in a person’s life. It begins with: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” The erroneous choice that all too many make is summarized in John 3:19-20, “And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness more than light, because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come into the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.” You can avoid the “blackness” in your life and of this age by believing in The One who is the True Light.

Prayerfully - consider these things with me. 

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