“I am the light of the world. If you follow Me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” John 8:12
It was dark…but I knew the way. Before I discovered the wonder world of retirement, there was one of those days that I had either skipped lunch or had something light. Regardless, it was about 2:30 in the afternoon and I was hungry. One of the advantages of working at a church is there is usually a kitchen close by. So, I mentioned to the staff that I was heading down to the kitchen to try and find something to eat. They told me there were some leftover hotdogs and baked beans in the refrigerator. Well, that sounded pretty good to me so off I went.
When I arrived, I opened the refrigerator door and looked. No dogs, no beans. Like the game show, “Let’s Make a Deal,” I decided to try door number two. No dogs, no beans. My last chance was door number three and unfortunately…no dogs, no beans. My stomach growled so I decided to try the freezer. I pulled open the door and while there weren’t any beans, there was one lonely, very frozen hotdog. In desperation I grabbed it and tossed it in the microwave for a fast defrost. Sixty seconds later I had a mostly defrosted hotdog which I then smothered with mustard. I even found a small bag of chips to round out the feast.
With food in hand, I headed through our dark fellowship hall heading to the door that led outside and then to my office. The fellowship hall was dark because the lights were off, and I didn’t turn them on because there wasn’t a switch at that door. All of this wasn’t a problem because I had made this journey many times. There were several tables along the wall and like a blind man I ran my hand along the edge of the tables and when they ended, I knew it was a straight shot to the door. It was a good plan…till it wasn’t.
Walking full speed and without reservation, I ran my hand down the table and sure enough it ended, and I just kept walking straight toward the door. I should have noticed that for some reason I couldn’t see the outline of the exit door. Too bad I didn’t because just about that time I crashed into something. My semi-defrosted hotdog smothered in mustard and chips went flying everywhere and I was left wondering what in the world just happened. Still in the darkness, I turned around and went to the light switch and flipped it on and there was the culprit. Someone had left the closet door that opened out instead of in standing open and I had ran straight into it.
Well, let’s be honest, with a mustard smothered hotdog and chips all over the floor I was one unhappy camper. Who in the world would leave the stinking door standing open? Don’t people know that you can’t see open doors in dark rooms? Well, I snorted and muttered for a couple of minutes, cleaned up the mess and headed to my office.
Floor or not I salvaged the hotdog and as I munched the dog a thought occurred to me. I had asked the wrong question. It wasn’t who would leave a door open in a dark room rather it was who in the world would walk through a dark room? The problem wasn’t the open door but the guy who thought he could safely navigate the darkness. Hmmm.
Well, I do believe I learned a lesson that day. Lights have a switch for a reason—turn on the lights! And then I had the thought that what is true about carrying mustard smothered hotdogs is also true in life. It is simply not smart to try and navigate a dark world without the Light of the world. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow Me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” Well, there you go. Walk with Jesus and you will walk in the light. The big truth is this…if you find yourself in a dark room carrying a mustard smothered hotdog, just remember to flip the switch. And, if you find yourself in a dark corner of the world with a heart smothered with burdens, just ask Jesus and He will be your light. Don’t worry…He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne
Grits with Grace 