Mike’s Musings ….

Sitting in the Dark

   For a variety of reasons (not excuses!) I have not written THOUGHTS WORTH THINKING until today, June 19. Throughout last night, and the early hours of today, storms marched through our area, leaving us without electricity. More than 750 in this area are in the same condition. Thankfully, it’s cooler this morning and batteries will operate this computer (for a while.)

   For me, sitting in the dark isn’t that difficult. As a child, especially when staying with my grandparents, the loss of power was quite frequent. The oil lamps provided enough light to read, and we would either accept the time for reading and quiet talk or appreciate the opportunity for extended sleeping! Chores through the daytime were never hampered, regardless of what the electric power might be doing or not doing. It was the nighttime outages that stopped our otherwise busy activities. Frankly, I miss those days … and am rather thankful for the occasional “blackouts” of modern time!

   Did I mention reading during such times? The old oil lamps (or if we could find one, a flashlight) provided a rather calm setting for reading and contemplating what we read. Seldom did we read aloud, and only during our Bible reading times did we read the same things. The occasional, “What are you reading?” or “What do you think about this?” were seriously asked and answered. We genuinely cared about these subjects, especially biblical matters, and valued the time to discuss them!

   Today … frankly, it is obvious most don’t read much anymore. If their knowledge is not fostered via a cellphone, TV or computer, they simply don’t know! The “art of study” seems lost to the masses of modern time, with little to no interest in returning to this God inspired directive (2 Timothy 2:15). Rather than read the text and carefully examine it with God’s Word only, many will ask the preacher, or worse, trust a 18th or 19th century commentator who is renowned, but who also never obeyed the gospel he purports to understand!

   I muse on the value of “turning off the lights,” so to speak, and relegating us to the former days of “redeeming the time, for the days are evil.” (Eph. 5:16) Ignorance is NOT bliss, friend! Ig NOR ance is just as eternally deadly as IG norance! (Look it up; you can pronounce it either way, but the meaning is vastly different!) We need to LEARN what God says, not just listen to someone direct our thoughts during a Bible class or sermon! It’s fine to “sit in the dark” literally – but not spiritually! We’re to be LIGHTS in this world, illuminated by the LIGHT OF GOD! That can only happen if we fervently let GOD’S light shine in us! Read 2 Corinthians 4:6!