Darkness versus Light (Sunday, Week 12, Year II)

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Another interesting feature of light is that it exposes. When it shines in the dark, it disperses darkness and exposes what has been hidden in the dark. Agents of darkness hide their "ugliness" in the dark, that's why they are afraid of light or exposure. And any provider of light must suffer the brutal oppression of the agents of darkness. My dear brother and sister, if you represent the light, be ready for attacks. Why? Your life exposes evil. And those who choose evil won't let you be. A Christian is an ambassador of light, a bearer of light. That's why sufferings and persecutions must be part and parcel of the Christian life. The world will never let you be, because your life exposes the rottenness in the world.

Jeremiah faced a similar situation. He was an agent of light, and the darkness around him didn't let him be. His situation was even more terrible because those who came after him were not people from afar, they were not outsiders. Jeremiah 11:21 tells us that his adversaries were men and people of Anathoth and Jeremiah himself in Jer. 1:1 came from Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. So, those who came after him were his own people. This reminds us of the saying of Jesus that "a person's enemies are those of his or her household" (Matt. 10:36). But this should not make us become suspicious of or hateful towards our own people. Our assurance is that the Lord who tests MIND and HEART will defend us. We can't take laws into our hands and begin to hate and suspect those close to us. No! God is our defender, He knows what to do. Vengeance is His.

Before the disciples went forth to proclaim the Gospel, Jesus told them in Matt. 10:5-6 that they shouldn't go into Gentile territories but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. In other words, they were sent to their fellow Jews, to their own people. And the following verses of Chapter 10 (26-36) speak about persecution. Where will the persecution come from? Of course, from their own people to whom they were sent! But Jesus told them not to fear, assuring them of God's closeness. He made it very clear to them and to us that human families and friends may turn against us, but God will forever be faithful to us, his children.

Inasmuch as you stand for truth and goodness, you are like a candlestick that emits the rays of love, truth and goodness. The agents of darkness may blow off the light of that candlestick but they can never destroy its innate capacity to produce and radiate light. You may be persecuted, you may be hounded, oppressed, denied of your rights and even killed for being an agent of light, but your soul, that life of God in you, can never be destroyed. Continue to live, to shine and radiate. God is ever close to you. He is ever faithful.

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