I have a story to share about walking in darkness.

The date was March 11. I had spent the week at the border with our Spring Break mission team. It was a fantastic week but I was far behind on some of my weekly responsibilities. Thus, I was at church very late at night. It was nearing 1AM when I decided to prepare some things for worship on the computer at the back of the sanctuary. Perhaps exhaustion had set in … but I made the decision to walk the length of the sanctuary without lights.

Everything was fine until I hit the first pew … I literally hit the first pew.

My boot caught the corner of the pew … which caused me to bang my shin against the bottom of the seat … which caused me to flip over the pew … which resulted in me cracking my sternum on the top of the pew … as I landed on the second pew.

5 weeks later … I still bear the scars of walking in darkness.

I don’t recommend walking in darkness. Rather, I suggest walking in light.

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world.Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” – John 8:12

We are familiar with darkness. Take recent headlines for example. Terrorism. Sexual Assault. Fraud. Mass shootings. Earthquakes. Obituary after Obituary.   Much of it is just flat out darkness. Yet, you don’t have to pick up the paper to find darkness. We can simply look inside our hearts.

When we are left to pursue our own desires we are often driven by jealously, greed, pride, lust, and many other dark things. Imagine if your thoughts and the dark corners of your heart were put on display for all to see. We cringe at the idea because we are familiar with darkness.

Yet, to those of us with darkness in our hearts Jesus states, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

The church needs honest confession.

The church needs to sincerely cling to our Savior.

Jesus brings light to dark places for he’s the light of the world. Notice the emphasis on world. Everyone needs Jesus and Jesus is sufficient for everyone. No one is beyond his reach. No one is too far gone. Jesus penetrates dark places … and transforms.

He can transform your heart if you follow him.

He can transform the world if the church follows him.