Stifling darkness

One summer our family took a day-trip to Indian Echo Caverns in Pennsylvania. Not having the resources for extensive family vacations, we took advantage of sites closer to Philadelphia. We did numerous “day-trips”.

I was impressed by the cavern tour. Lighted paths revealed beautifully colored dripping rock stalactites and stalagmites everywhere. Our boardwalk walkway went over underground streams and deep pools of crystal-clear water. One, a nine-foot-deep pool, deceptively appeared to be just a couple of feet deep. At one point the tour guide explained that he was going to turn off the lights so we could see what the caverns looked like in the dark. I heard a breaker snap open. Everything went away! I could see absolutely nothing! We all froze. Instant alone! Instant fear. Had we lost power, or had the lights failed to turn back on, there’s no telling what would have happened. This adventuresome ten-year-old kid was freaked! We were all thankful when the light returned.

Sometimes when I come across Jesus’ statement, “I am the light of the world, anyone following Me shall not walk in darkness but will have the light of life”, it reminds me of that Indian Echo Cavern experience. It’s very scary to try to walk through life without Jesus, isolated, without the hope that He gives. It’s an invitation to follow Jesus, and turn on the Light.

This reminds us also of Egypt’s ninth plague, found in Exodus 10:21-23. The hard-hearted Pharaoh refused again to let the people of Israel go. Now this ninth plague was a dense localized darkness “that could be felt”. It lasted three days! No one went anywhere, but the Israelites had light. Egypt’s sun god, Ra, was shown to be helpless against the LORD, the God of the Israelites.

[If interested, I’ve discovered two sites that have engaging articles about the historic evidences for Egypt’s ten plagues: BibleStudyTools.com, and GotQuestions.org.]