Presence of Darkness

I think sometimes we forget how dark this world is. I can't speak for you, but my world is really happy. Food when I'm hungry, heat when I'm cold, friends when I'm sad, books when I'm bored. I don't know any truly evil people personally and I've never personally witnessed tragedy. Because my world is so comfortable, it's hard for me to remember that this is a world full of sin, evil, and darkness. 

Mom: I'm glad that's over. I think that guy was a pedophile.

Me: Wa- really? He seemed nice to me.

Mom: And we all know what an excellent judge of character you are. 

For the record, the guy was a little weird, but calling him a pedophile is a bit uncharitable. Still, that was the first time I really considered that the people I see every day are not necessarily the lovely people I think they are. My siblings are not good people. My friends are not good people. The respected adults I know, they are not good people. I am not a good person. And yet, sometimes I pretend we are all good people.

I think blindness to the darkness can be a very dangerous thing. As much as I try to see people like God sees them, I think I miss the boat sometimes. We love people because God loves them, not because they're good or deserving of love. When I forget about the darkness that is inherent within this world, I forget the reason why love is so important. When dark isn't so dark, what does the light matter? Forgetting the darkness makes me forget the light. 

Watching the horrible things on the news, or examining my own heart quickly reminds me of the darkness in this world, but I'm not afraid. Or, at least, I try not to be afraid. The darkness is so strong and so prevalent in this world, but the more I mark the presence of darkness, the more renewed I am knowing the Light of the world conquered darkness. The more oppressive the darkness, the clearer and brighter I see the Light.