May the Force Be With You

When my two sons were young, they loved Star Wars ... the movies, the books, the toys ... they loved all things Star Wars. They would spend literally hours reenacting scenes from the films, and the words, "May the Force be with you," would drift upstairs time and time again as they played in the basement. Matt and Brad would always take turns being the "bad guys," and it always amazed me that they never seemed to argue over who played the good guy and who played the bad. They were equally content with being Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader.

Last Sunday, my pastor's sermon was about darkness, and how Christ's entrance into the world shattered the darkness that permeated the world. One of Ken's points was that darkness is progressive ... that darkness breeds darkness, and the only way out of that darkness is through a personal relationship with Christ. Some sermons cause me to think far beyond Sunday, and last Sunday's was one of those. I've been thinking about the whole concept of darkness versus light all week.

Each morning this week as I've readied myself for work, I've noticed that it seems that the light of morning comes so slowly, especially on a cloudy day. As I've prepared to come home from work each evening, I've been struck with how quickly darkness falls and how fast that darkness becomes deep and penetrating. Driving home tonight in the midst of freezing drizzle, in the dark, I began to think about the slippery slope of sin.

It is amazing how quickly darkness can envelop me when I choose to walk out of the light ... how easily I can find myself wandering, alone, frightened, unable to see the path before me. But it is even more amazing how bright the light of God's love shines upon me when I fall to my knees and cry out for Him to rescue me, to let me come home into His arms, to tenderly guide me out of the darkness and back into the light of His love and forgiveness.

Darkness ... light ... hmmmm. I wonder if the boys' light sabers are still in the basement. I feel like whooping up on the dark side, and I need the power of the Light to do that. The power of the One and Only Light. May the Force ... the true Force, God's Son ... may the Force be with you, today and forever.