Left Out In the Dark

Have you ever heard of or used the idiom "left out in the dark"? Leaving someone in the dark basically means not including them in relevant and/or important information that the person probably needs. So, that raises the question, why was the dark chosen for this particular idiom? Obviously, when you are literally in the dark, it is nearly impossible to see what is in the room which increases the likelihood of someone bumping into something like a table, chair, or other object that may cause you to stump your toe, bruise your shin, or possibly trip you up for a fall. Being left out in the dark also conjures up images of someone being left outside among the elements of the night which we all pretty much associate with negative outcomes. Being outside after dark is when the creatures of the night howl and prowl, where robbers kill, steal, and destroy (see John 10:10), and when I as a little boy was told to come inside because it was "getting dark". 

 

When we talk about being "left out in the dark", we are saying that someone doesn't have the information they need to make an informed decision. In the Gospel of John 1:4-5 we are told that "In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." In other words, darkness or the dark of night could not comprehend what the light was. If you think about it that kind of makes sense, when it is dark outside there is no light, the sun has set and darkness prevails. If you go into a room, close the doors, and turn off the lights it suddenly gets pitch black dark leaving the darkness with no idea of what light is or what it can do. Darkness cannot comprehend light simply because once light appears, darkness dissipates. Where light exists darkness is eliminated, and in that same mindset, where darkness prevails there is no understanding of what light is or what it can offer. 

 

If we apply this same way of thinking to our own lives, it stands to say that if we are living in the darkness of this world, then we have no understanding of the light that God provides. The scripture from John 1 tells us that the life Jesus came to share became like light to all that believe in Him and follow Him. Without God we stumble in and out of days, accumulating bumps and bruises and many times falling down without hope that we will ever get back on our feet. Accepting the light that God offers illuminates our life, internally and also externally as we share His light with others living in darkness. 

 

We can hide out in the basement to hide or ignore the light of day, we can hang dark curtains over our windows blocking out the sun and pretending that it is not there, but the light is there waiting on us to accept His eternal light of hope and life! The dark of night has no option but to yield to the morning light as the sun rises in the east, we have a choice that must be made. We can choose to live in complete darkness or we can accept God's offer of life everlasting and allow His light to shine in you and through you to a dark and needy world! 

 

"Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." John 8:12

Coach Carter