Light Comes from Dark Times

Lord of the Rings is by far, hands down, and forever my favorite trilogy or saga. It is rich in so many ways. One of its treasures are the many inspiring lines and speeches penned by Tolkien for the beloved characters. Of the movies, one of my true favorites is the speech given by Sam Gamgee at the end of The Two Towers as they face a hopeless end and dark foe. It reads:

Sam: It’s all wrong
By rights we shouldn’t even be here.
But we are.
It’s like in the great stories Mr. Frodo.
The ones that really mattered.
Full of darkness and danger they were,
and sometimes you didn’t want to know the end.
Because how could the end be happy.
How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad happened.
But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow.
Even darkness must pass.
A new day will come.
And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer.

Lord of the Rings, the Two Towers

Now I realize that if you have not read the book or seen the film the weight of that quote is not quite as heavy as I’d like it to be…so moral of the story is…go watch it!!! Ok, there is more than just that (but seriously the movie is amazing as is the book, but I digress).

Dark times lead to a yearning for light. Dark times always lead to light yet not all at once. It starts as a spark and builds to a glowing flame. It is with this in mind that I wish to speak plainly yet unto encouragement. I am not a doom and gloom sort of guy, yet I believe that persecution is well on the way to America. As the “Progressive-Left” moves forward with Marxist ideals of state which reserves no place for a biblical-worldview, the inevitable is the marginalization of the Christian. The place for the follower of Jesus is getting smaller and smaller in western civilization. Persecution is near at hand on this trajectory, unless God should graciously change our current course.

Now I do not wish to needlessly stir fear, but to stir us up to sobriety. And to approach the coming days with hope and gladness: hope in our Savior and gladness in seeing what our Savior does in these days.

“Post Tenebras Lux” (After Darkness, Light)

As the 16th century pushed on and the spiritual darkness of previous centuries slowly faded with the light of the gospel growing in brilliance, there were men who began to say, “Post Tenebras Lux”. What we find throughout history is the sure pattern of light following after darkness, and to a degree, quenching it. As sure as morning light overtakes the long night, so the light of God will overcome every dark foe.

But as I said above, seldom does such light come to full strength in short time. It begins as a candle and in time turns to a blaze. One way we have seen this happen has been by way of books. It is quite interesting that amid some of the darkest times in the church’s history we find some of the greatest classics. The pressure of persecution has produced the sweetest nectar. However, they were not merely words of refreshment for that generation, but for the many generations to follow. Let us note several of these so as to see how God has worked in days gone by.

Light from a Pen

• Martin Luther: Now, it will not be a book I here refer to, but a song, for it was his pen which produced that great hymn A Mighty Fortress is Our God. History would teach us that he sang this song with his friends for comfort amid trying times. The words that so blessed his own soul have blessed countless others, even on the other side of the world. I know it is a most beloved and encouraging hymn for me.
• British Puritans: During the time of the puritans there was a lot of shifting in the sphere of church and state…there wasn’t much of a dividing line between the two. As monarchs came to power who opposed the puritan’s beliefs, many puritans faced persecution: imprisonment or death. Yet again, men took up pen and paper and began to write: Richard Sibbs – The Bruised Reed; Jeremiah Burroughs – The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment; Thomas Brooks – Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices. From “amid trial and tribulation and tumult of her war” the church produced writing that bolstered her in the moment and blessed her future children.
• Dairy of David Brainerd: Now this autobiography does not stem so much from persecution as it does from the severe difficulties of Christian faithfulness. Brainerd was an early missionary to the Native Americans of the the northeast. He spent the winters, in the bitter cold, exposed to the elements and coughing up blood. His health was quite poor for most of his short ministry. He died at age 29. Yet, amid his trouble and pain arose a fruitful ministry and diary that has inspired countless ministers and missionaries after him.
• Corrie ten Boom: Here is a name known to many. Brave. Honorable. Loving. For her beliefs she suffered much yet she conquered much. From the trials faced by her family amid the darkness of Nazi Germany, with its holocaust, a beloved and insightful book was kindled: The Hiding Place. Such a treasured work would not have blessed so many if a dark storm had not gone across Europe. Post Tenebras Lux.

• Athanasius of Alexandria: We are tempted at times to look to the early church and think they had their act together before all of the heresies and factions slipped in. However, heresies and factions have pledged the church since the days of the apostles ( we read of factions: 1& 2 Corinthians; Heresies: 2 Peter). In the fourth century Athanasius endured the darkness of a potent heresy that seemed to swallow up the church entirely: Arianism. This taught that Jesus was a creature and not divine. The grasp of this teaching was so strong that as Athanasius battled against it a phrase was coined: Athanasius contra mundum (Athanasius against the world). He had few true allies in this fight, but yet again, from darkness came light: The Incarnation. The Incarnation has been considered one of the best writings on the person and nature of Jesus at that time in the church. It was monumental against Arianism, and has continued to enable believers to better understand Christ.
• The final four I will quickly mention here. Samuel Rutherford who wrote Loveliness of Christ was a puritan who was ordered not to preach by an opposing monarch and imprisoned. However, he penned one of the “loveliest” devotions ever composed in the English tongue. John Bunyan, another puritan who was put in prison for 10+ years for preaching took up the pen and gave us Pilgrims Progress. This book has become one of the most widely read English works of all time. The noteworthy English preacher C.H. Spurgeon is said to have read it 100 times, and commended it to all believers. Finally, two of our Luthran brethren who faced a day which looks similar to our potential tomorrow: Richard Wombrand and Diedrich Bonhoeffer. Both men were imprisoned and mistreated for their faith and ministry; Bonhoeffer was executed. They suffered much along with their brethren in their perspective parts of communist/Nazi Europe. We can all agree they faced the terrors of dark evil days, yet from their suffering came light to the world. Wombrand later recorded his experience in his short autobiography Tortured for Christ. Bonhoeffer while imprisoned wrote The Cost of Discipleship. Both of these works have become widely regarded as classics of Christian writing. Post Tenebras Lux.

Conclusion:

The Lord only knows what tomorrow holds. Let us trust him in the now, and as the now progresses to tomorrow, with whatever may be in store. And should our Savior see fit that the church in America suffer amid the ramifications of a godless and perverse nation, let us not lose hope. We have hope regardless of economy, government, or policies for we have a hope in Christ for the moment and a future in Christ. But let us also anticipate what Jesus is preparing to do amid the refining fire of his perfect and mysterious love.