Lenten Devotional - Day 40

Scripture: Ephesians 5:8-9

“For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light — for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true.” (Eph. 5:8-9)

  Theologian Robert Alden writes that "There is not enough darkness in all the world to put out the light of even one small candle."

  A little boy was afraid of the dark. One night his mother told him to go out to the back porch and bring her the broom.

  The little boy turned to his mother and said, “Mama, I don’t want to go out there. It’s dark.”

  The mother smiled reassuringly at her son. “You don’t have to be afraid of the dark,” she explained. “Jesus is out there. He’ll look after you and protect you.”

  The little boy looked at his mother real hard and asked, “Are you sure he’s out there?”

  “Yes, I’m sure. He is everywhere, and he is always ready to help you when you need him,” she said.

  The little boy thought about that for a minute and then went to the back door and cracked it a little. Peering out into the darkness, he called, “Jesus? If you’re out there, would you please hand me the broom?”

  For those who have lived most of their lives in the darkness of addictions, the whole experience of living in the light of recovery is a strange and odd experience. A host of emotions experienced by those in recovery can be overwhelming. Managing these emotions can be challenging without help, they need to experience what is normal, to experience what is “good and right and true” probably for the first time. They need to experience others who are living a normal and average life. The life we live each day might be viewed by us as boring and uninteresting, but our lives can be viewed as terrifying to others who have no experience with normal, common, ordinary experiences of life. If they are ever to live in the light, they must be in a community where light is present to overcome their fear among the darkness.

  Like, the little boy who asked Jesus to retrieve the broom from the back porch, we hope that Jesus will step up and do all the hard work and deal with the darkness in the outside world and within ourselves. Paul reminds the Ephesians that they once were in the darkness, but they are now light and they are called to live accordingly as children of light. The fruit of this light is our willingness to do the “good and right and true,” by sharing the light with others. We may view our light as too dim, but if we do what is “good and right and true,” even one small candle can defeat the darkness. Discover where your light shines the brightest and let it shine in the darkness.

Lee McDermott, Contributor

Remember in Prayer: Individuals and churches afraid to enter into the darkness and those seeking the light doing the "good and right and true."

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