The Cave and the Sun (or Us and the Son)

Cook County News Herald    THE GOOD NEWS for 5/8/2010

Once upon a time, not so long ago as you might be inclined to think at an opening like this, a Cave lived under the ground, as caves have the habit of doing.  The Cave had lived its entire life in darkness. One day (not the Cave knew whether it was day or night. You see the Cave was hampered by the fact that its nature is darkness), one day the Cave heard a voice calling to it, “Come up into the light; come and see the sunshine.” The Cave retorted, “I don’t know what you mean; there isn’t anything but darkness.”

Again and again the Cave responded the same way, “I don’t know what you mean; there isn’t anything but darkness.” The Cave had only known darkness for all of its life. Every Cave he knew of in all the world knew only darkness. Based on the Cave’s personal experience and general observation to date, the world was all Cave and darkness. It made no sense to the Cave that someone should call him to sunshine, since he could not, based on his observations and experience, imagine such a thing. Surely there could not exist something that could not be fully embraced by observation and experience.

Still the voice persisted, “Come up into the light; come and see the sunshine. It is beautiful up here. The light reveals all the darkness hides. Come and see. Come and see. Come and see for yourself. Come and see the sunshine.” Finally the Cave ventured forth and was surprised to see light everywhere. In the light the Cave saw revealed what the world really looked like. He saw what had been hidden to him. His observations and experience were expanded to encompass all that was real, and wonderful, and marvelous, all that he had missed in the narrow confines of the darkness that filled his observations and experience.

Filled with wonder at the truth revealed by the light, the Cave looked up at the Sun and asked, “Won’t you come with me now and see the darkness?” The Sun was puzzled and asked, “What is darkness?” The Cave replied, “Come and see.” One day the Sun accepted the invitation. As it entered the Cave the Sun said, “Now show me your darkness!” But there was no darkness.

An eyewitness to Jesus, a friend who knew him well and whose testimony withstands the passing of time, shares this with us about God’s Son: “In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it . . . . The true light, which enlightens every man, was coming into the world” (John 1:4-5, 9). We human beings live in darkness. We survey our experiences and the experiences of others and conclude that all is darkness, vanity, emptiness. Sometimes, in the narrow confines of darkness, we even insist that darkness is all there is, all that can be, all that ever will be. Occasionally, we even attempt to persuade one another to find what joy we can in our darkness since we have no inkling that there may be anything but the darkness we know so well: the disappointment, the anger, the failure, the discouragement that colors our observations and experiences. We will even, from time to time, proclaim the light non-existent. But our rantings in the darkness do not affect the Truth, the true Light that enlightens every man, of whom John wrote.

God, in love, sent his Son, Jesus, into the world with an invitation, “Come and see. Come and see the Light. Come observe and experience God for yourself.” God reveals himself, he pours the Light upon himself for all to see in his word, the Bible, and in his Son, Jesus Christ. Come and see for yourself. Are you not sure if there is truly any Light? God says, “Come now, let us reason together” (Isaiah 1:18, ESV). This is an invitation from God himself to engage God through the Bible and find the Light for yourself.

God’s intent in making himself known in the Bible is so that you can know him for yourself, and not merely know what someone else says about him. He knows you and wants you to know him. He wants to shed some light on your life, light that will bring the realities of your life and his love into focus. Come and see. You can come and see for yourself.

That’s the Good News.