#11 Light And Love

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

These famous words by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr have been circulating social media, following the antisemitic terrorist attack in Sydney. Dr King Jr’s historic words call for an uprise of light and love, directing our righteous anger towards the victory of good over evil without the dirtying of our souls. But apart from holding influential political position, how can we as individuals produce this conquering light and love? Does a light or love with sovereign power over evil even exist?

Strangely, I am grateful for the day I met the face of spiritual evil, 29 years ago, for though it was evil, it was truth. And in that moment, by God’s grace, I became a devout seeker of the spiritual, sovereign God of Love. Once I realised that evil, spiritual beings existed, had faces, personalities, motivations and strategic thought, I then immediately concluded that loving beings existed and were far more powerful. Given the order and intricacy of all creation and human relations, it seemed a reasonable and logical conclusion for love to be the supreme living power that held it all together.

Seeking the truth of the God of Love eventually led me to the Christian Bible which explains spiritual matters plainly. Within its pages the identity, personality and power of God, and also of evil, are shown over the vastness of time, places and people. The Bible is a 1600-year narrative of mankind’s relationship with God and also mankind’s propensity towards evil not dissimilar to what we witnessed at Bondi last month.

If we read the Bible believing our being goes only as deep as our anatomy, we will not make much sense of it all. God is Spirit, and we are spiritual beings. The Bible presumes the reader believes at least those two things. Gaining deep knowledge and revelation through the Bible requires the reader to have faith in the invisible existence of their own spirit within their body, and also that of their invisible Maker, for it is where these two commune that the Bible reveals the depth of its mystery.

Whilst love has victory over evil, evil remains active using two primary strategies to mislead, capture, divide and destroy people. One strategy is to convince people he does not exist so no spiritual intelligence or weapon can be used against him, and no spiritual protection is raised to stop him. Another strategy of evil is to draw people’s attention so they are turned away from God. It does not matter if people are looking to evil with admiration or disgust, the effect is the same, a loss of sight of God, a loss of footing in His Light. We see these tactics drawing people towards evil in many ways in our society, whilst we increasingly see a rebuking of truth and rejection of God's love.

Isaiah 5:20-21 warns of such times, ‘Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!’

Spirits are real, good and evil are real, and they are part of our daily lives whether we are conscious of their root existence or not. Thankfully the supreme power of God’s love reigns in the Heavenly realm, and reaches to rescue, heal, protect and direct our souls (the details of the Easter event explains this victory in more detail). It is up to us who we choose to follow, but ignoring such matters is foolishness, given the cost of such ignorance; look to the brokenness of relationships, the lack of peace in our minds, or the extreme harm caused by the terrorists at Bondi who were deceived by evil and were led so far astray of love.

Where does one begin the extraordinary journey, safely and effectively, to find the source of light and love Dr King Jr spoke of?

When Dr King Jr spoke of a light and love powerful enough to conquer darkness and hate, he was referring to the sovereign love of our Father in Heaven found through Jesus Christ.

In John 1:4-5, John says, ‘In him [Jesus] was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness hasn’t overcome it.’

1 John 4:4-8 says, ‘He who doesn’t love doesn’t know God, for God is love.’

John 14:6, Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me [Jesus].”

Having faith in these Words, responding in prayer with a contrite heart, pulls back the access curtain introducing us to our Triune God, the sovereign source of love and light.

Prayer: Father God, I accept Jesus is your son, and whilst I may not understand this fully in my logical mind, I believe by following His Words and examples I will find my way to You, Your heart of love and Your sovereign power. Please receive my prayer and reveal yourself to me.

How do we remain near to God once we find Him?  

In Psalm 32:3-6, King David (the same David that Michelangelo sculptured) shows us the burden he carried when he did not speak with God, and His response to turn to Him, speak to Him, confess His wrongs and seek Gods guidance and blessing.

‘When I kept silence, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy on me. My strength was sapped in the heat of summer.'

'I acknowledged my sin to you. I didn’t hide my iniquity. I said, I will confess my transgressions to Yahweh, and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. For this, let everyone who is godly pray to you in a time when you may be found.’

These practices of repentance, facing God and opening up honestly with Him, are again stated by Jesus himself within the Lord’s prayer.

Matthew 6:6-16, [Jesus said] ‘But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.'

'This, then, is how you should pray:

”Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”’

(Jesus continues to speak to the disciples) ‘For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.’

How do we develop and grow in truth, knowledge, light and love?

Dismantling our thought mantras through obedience to Gods Word will transform our minds and in turn remove barriers between God and us. Too often our habitual thoughts, words and actions are stunting our spiritual growth. When we actively review and replace our habits with the truth of God’s Word, our view of God himself illuminates brighter in our soul, and in turn shines brighter outward through our eyes and lives. Though gentle and continuous refinement, our miraculous transformation enables a deeper understanding of God, ourselves and our purpose.

Romans 12:2 tells us, ‘Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.’

2 Timothy 3:16-17, ‘Every Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, that each person who belongs to God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.’

Where do we place our fear?

The world tells us to face our fear. James 4:7 says the opposite.

‘Be subject therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.’

The Bible tells us to face God and submit to Him, resist the temptation of evil and he will depart. The harder things get, the more resolute we must be in our humble devotion to the living God of love and light, Jesus Christ. He already won victory at the resurrection, that is where we settle our hearts at the beginning and end of each day.

We cannot use magic, romance, virtue, principles or idealism to produce a light and love from within us, that has the power to overcome evil and hate, because we are not the source. But the Father of all Creation certainly holds that power. Our role is to invite Him into our hearts, into our circumstances, through daily, humble, faithful prayer,. We draw nearer to Him by removing our barriers through confessing our wrongs, being thankful for all in our lives, and seeking His wisdom, light and love. Remaining in prayer contact with God daily is important and transforming. Also reading the Word and aligning ourselves to his statutes, for He is our Creator and designed us with purpose. He knows the optimum way for His creation to thrive.

We can direct our efforts in our relationships and workplaces to create a safer environment for all. When evil arises, we shall not fear, instead we can review and analyse events and tear down constructs that enabled evil in, and build defenses to prevent it; we do not ignore and put our heads in the sand. But our spiritual eyes must be open and remain on God, and not allow fear or evil to become our overarching focus. Our highest faith and interest must remain on Him who is the supreme source of love and peace.

We are to pray as though the outcome depends entirely on God. And work as though the outcome depends entirely on us. In that order.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only the light of Jesus can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only the love of Father God can do that.”

Gods Word

2 Samuel 22:17-29

The Lord sent from on high and he took me. He drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me. They came on me in the day of my calamity, but Yahweh was my support. He also brought me out into a large place. He delivered me, because he delighted in me.

The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness. He rewarded me according to the cleanness of my hands. For I have kept the Lord's ways, and have not wickedly departed from my God. For all his ordinances were before me. As for his statutes, I didn't depart from them. I was also perfect toward him. I kept myself from my iniquity. Therefore the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, According to my cleanness in his eyesight. With the merciful you will show yourself merciful. With the perfect man you will show yourself perfect. With the pure you will show yourself pure.

With the crooked you will show yourself shrewd. You will save the afflicted people, but your eyes are on the arrogant, that you may bring them down.

For you are my lamp, Lord. The Lord will light up my darkness.