Light versus dark...

Ever notice how, in the old westerns, the bad guy always wore black and the good guy always wore white? In the last couple of days there have been two themes running through my mind. (Some times things really strike me and other times I am really oblivious to what the spirit is trying to get through to my dense brain!) I'm not ever sure why these particular ideas are so front and center - it's not like I have trouble with them or I am blind to them.

Yesterday, while I was sweating through one of my work outs, it struck me how often my eye is drawn to lights. I was laying on a bench, doing a bench press with a couple of dumbbells, trying to focus my attention on an object on the ceiling to get my focus off my effort; my eye kept shifting to the over head light - which was really bright actually. It wasn't even in my direct line of sight, but I kept drifting up to look at it. Then my mind started to try and decide why I kept doing that. It kind of bugged me because the light was bright and actually uncomfortable to look at. Thats when it occurred to me that Jesus Christ is the light of this world and we MUST look to Him.

In a world full of so much darkness we need His light:
As a small child I had a bit of fear in the dark - I think most children do. It was always more comforting to have a small light on in my dark room at night. When ever I find myself in the dark - physically - it seems hard to see where I am going until I turn on a light. Then that light guides me to where I need to go and it helps me get there safely. The gospel teaches us that light and dark can not co-exist. The light absorbs the darkness but the darkness cannot overwhelm the light. Light always wins in the end.
Yet there are those that continue to shut out the light. They choose to close their blinds and turn off the switches and be in the dark - physically and spiritually. Some will even say they like it that way.

As for me, I embrace the light. I constantly have a need to fill my home with light! It warms me and comforts me. The reason it becomes uncomfortable to look directly at the light though, is what troubles me. Well, not troubles, but gives me pause. If Jesus Christ is the Light, and I can't look directly at it without feeling discomfort - spiritually - it is because I am not quite where He is. I know that I am working on being worthy to be where He is, but it will take my life time. But that is why I am so attracted to the light. I am constantly looking to where the light is - I am figuratively looking to Christ. I hope I never loose that impulse. Jesus Christ is MY LIght! He brings me comfort and keeps me from the darkness.

The other theme - of today actually - is "what good ever comes from a life of drugs and alcohol abuse?" Several stories in the news lately have to do with individuals who have taken the path that leads to drugs and alcohol - they usually get there out of curiosity or pressure from others to join the "fun" or even desperation to find something better. These stories are about crime and killings and just plain old trouble with the law.
This morning, for example, I looked at a picture of a woman only 5 years older than me who looked like she was at least 20 or even 30 years older! She was a drug addict; booked in jail for stealing a dead woman's credit cards and using them to buy things for herself! Sounds like an upstanding thing to do.
Another story is one of a female Sheriff's Deputy that was killed by a drug dealer who had, moments before, sold drugs to her brother. The drug dealer than had to hide in a man's tool shed over night - in sub freezing temperatures - so that he didn't get caught and thrown in jail. He did get caught and will go to prison! Also sounds like a great way to spend a life!
So, I can't help but wonder what good ever comes from a life of drugs? So many people die from drug over doses, car accidents while under the influence, and diseases from shared needles. I guess the bigger question is what can be done about preventing the use of the drugs in the first place? Probably not much, since the evil forces out there are so cunning and clever about how they get there "victims." They know how to make the darkness look so much more appealing than the light.