John 1:4-5

The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.

There has been darkness on every page of human history, but the last century saw darkness on a colossal scale. During the terrible dictatorships of Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot and Mao, many tens of millions of people were killed, but we have also seen horrifying amounts of abuse even within the Church. Every day, we hear stories of darkness, and we feel the weight of pain that is borne by so many people, but there is good news amid this terrible darkness – however hard people may have tried, they have failed to extinguish the light of Christ.

There have been determined efforts to destroy the Church over the past century, and there still are today. To those brothers and sisters in North Korea, Somalia, Afghanistan and Pakistan who live under the most oppressive regimes, we can declare that the light of Christ will never be put out. None of this is to underestimate or trivialise the suffering which many Christians face this very day. The pain and suffering are all too real, and at times the destroyers might seem to have the upper hand. However, we can be absolutely sure that they cannot and will not win.

The situations that you and I face each day may not seem so desperate, but we can all see places where it is hard to live for Christ, and where Christians are marginalised and mocked for their faith. On those days when it all feels too much and the devil seems to be winning, we need to go back to these verses and encourage ourselves with the thought that, hard as they may try, the powers of darkness will not have the final word.

Question

In what way does it encourage you to know that the darkness will never extinguish the light of Christ?

Prayer

Loving God, I thank you that the light of Christ will shine forever, however strong the opposition. Amen