by Pastor Paul Clark, President of Lutherans For Life of Michigan
With great trepidation, the boy peered down the steep stairway that led from the kitchen to the gloomy basement below. Even with the dim stairway light turned on, he could not escape the tidal wave of fear that washed over him. For the boy, the basement was a place of dread. But his parents had asked him to retrieve a box of ornaments that had been stored in the basement and bring it up to the living room. Reluctantly, he made his way down the stairs, as quietly as possible, so as not to give notice to any monsters that could be lurking and waiting to pounce.
When he reached the bottom, he hesitated. He knew that the worst part was yet to come. There was but one light bulb, and it hung from the ceiling in the middle of the vastness of the cellar. He had to cross through the dismal darkness to reach the light. The boy peered into the shadows of each corner of the basement, ready to flee if he saw any movement. He was sure that he was being closely watched by something—something evil, something monstrous—something that no doubt could easily make a tasty meal of a small and tender boy.
What was that? He was sure he heard a sound from the far corner, a slithering noise, like that of some foul beast dragging itself toward him. Seeing nothing and hearing nothing more than his own rapid heartbeat, he finally gathered up his courage, if you could call it that, and sprinted across the basement to reach the light bulb. He reached up and pulled the string and turned on the light. The darkness finally somewhat relinquished its frightful grip, and the boy quickly found the box of ornaments. But he was not yet safe. For now, he had to turn the light off and make his way back to the stairway. He gathered up the box in his arms and turned off the light. The darkness returned. He raced back to the stairway, certain that as Samuel Taylor Coleridge had written in “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”:
Like one, that on a lonesome road
Doth walk with fear and dread,
And having once turned around, walks on,
And turns no more his head;
Because he knows a frightful fiend
Doth close behind him tread.
Despite feeling certain that a fiend was closely behind him, the boy made it back safely to the stairs. Shivering, he quickly climbed them, breathing a huge sigh of relief at the top. He returned to the warmth and safety of the brightly lit kitchen. He walked into the living room, box of ornaments in hand, and somehow managed to give a slight smile to his parents, never saying a word to them of his frightful journey of fear.
We all know what it is to walk with fear and dread. The frightful fiend that follows may not be an imaginary monster, but it takes many other forms. It may be the fear or threat of cancer. It may be anxious concern over finances. It may be the prospect of a long road to recovery after a stroke. It may be the aching and haunting loneliness that settles in after the loss of someone very dear to us. It may be the helpless horror we feel when we hear of another school shooting. It may even be nameless, something we just can’t put our finger on. Yet it hovers over us just the same with that familiar cloud of fear and dread.
“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you” (Isaiah 60:1).
The Light has come. Jesus Christ is the Light of the world. Only Christ can chase away the gloomy shadows of night. Only the Good News that Jesus loves you, died for you, rose for you—and is with you—can ease your mind and bring you comfort and peace amid fear and anxiety.
When Jesus is with us, the monsters that lurk in the dark cellar of our minds must flee. Satan’s power is broken.
For Satan’s real power is found in his terrible lies. His lies are these:
- You are worthless. God cannot and does not care for you.
- You have sinned too much in your life. God cannot and will not forgive you.
- You are a slave to your fear and anxiety. God cannot or will not break those chains and release you.
- Life is ruled by chance. You are a product of meaningless evolution. Life is without purpose.
- You might as well give up.
Lies. Filthy, despicable, demonic lies.
Here is the Biblical truth: You are created in God’s image. God loves you. God sent His Son to save you—even by sacrificing His own life for you on the cross. You are baptized. You have new life, a new hope, and a splendid future—all in Jesus.
Your life has meaning because it is a life redeemed by Christ. You are on the road to glory, whether you feel it or not. It is most certainly true.
“Unto you is born in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11).
We all revert to the state of that little boy at times, cringing at the terrible thoughts and fears that we may be hovering in the shadowy recesses of our hearts and minds. As a boy, I was terrified that the Creature from the Black Lagoon was stalking me. One night I awoke from a nightmare only to see his hideous hand reaching up from the side of my bed, ready to strike. As my eyes cleared from the fog of sleep, I realized with great relief that it was my own gnarly hand that I saw, poking up like a claw from the bed covers.
But, hey, we’re not children any longer. Now we’re mature and rational adults, right? We no longer believe in monsters. Or do we?
Sadly, they do exist, in many forms. There is the devil—who is very real—and then there is sickness, cancer, crime, murder, school shootings, vicious gangs, and of course, ultimately, the ugly monster of death itself. All exist. All provoke fear and dread.
Arise, shine, for your LIGHT has come! The glory of the LORD has risen upon you!
The darkness is shoved back.
The monsters flee to their corners, cowering in their prison cells.
Death has been swallowed up in the victory of Christ!
The scales of fear fall away from our hearts.
Reconciled with the Father through our Lord Jesus Christ, we have forgiveness.
We have peace. We have joy. We have courage. We have purpose. We have conviction. We have hope.
Regardless of what you may see and hear in the dark cellar of this fallen world, the Light has come. Lift up your heads! Our God is with us. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel has come to you, O Israel! He comes to His people, His Church, and is with us ALWAYS, to the end of the age. Amen.