January 11 - Job 24:13-17

There are those who rebel against the light ...

When daylight is gone, the murderer rises up ...
The eye of the adulterer watches for dusk ...
In the dark, thieves break into houses ... 

For all of them, midnight is their morning; 

they make friends with the terrors of darkness.

Job 24:13-17

 

I love that line: "Midnight is their morning."

 

I also hate the truth of that lie.

 

Murderers, adulterers, and theives are constantly emboldened by the cover of darkness. Mostly, they hide their ways so they won't get caught. And "they make friends," along the way, "with the terrors of darkness."

 

But isn't there another element to this cover of darkness? Don't some of our most wreckless habits start at night because of shame? It's fine if our co-conspirators know -- fellow theives, fellow drunkards, fellow adulterers -- but who are the people we're hiding our activities from? Mom? Grandma? Our boss? Our spouse? God?

 

Shame is usually in terms of relationships. Therefore, when Job says, "There are those who rebel against the light," he's not talking about a fear of sunrays; he's talking about a rebellion against God and his ways.

 

Scripture tells us that "God is light; in him there is no darkness at all" (1 Jn 1:5). Therefore, true light and true darkness have nothing to do with the time of day. True light is a relationship with the One who is light.

 

Think about it: When we're ashamed, we stay away from the light ... including the person who is light. And we make friends, instead, with darkness. And, I guess, accidentally, we run the risk of making friends with that person too.

 

In Christ's Love,

a guy who's tired of working 

the 2nd and 3rd shift.

I want a day job.

I want to work in the light.