Children of Light

In creating this blog, one of the first questions that came to mind was simply this - what exactly was I going to write about? After some contemplation and prayer, I came to the conclusion that it would be beneficial to create a forum with the aim of reconciling the challenges of living an Orthodox life while also living within modern American society. Let's face it, the two are at odds with each other. Not much of what we're exposed to on a daily basis is consistent with Christianity, let alone Orthodox Christianity.

The title I chose comes from the Gospel of John, or to be more precise, from the passage we read at Divine Liturgy on Pascha: In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it (1:4-5). Each of us is called to be a partaker of the Divine Nature by means of receiving this light, but more often than not, man rejects the light in favor of the darkness of sin.

Once, I took a tour of Sonoma Caverns, a national landmark in Texas. As we descended into the cave, I was awe struck at the beauty of the rock formations, including a perfect replica of a butterfly carved out of the crystal by the hand of God. The glorious handiwork of God's creation surrounded me, and it was as if I had been transported into a preview of the Heavenly realm. As we reached the bottom, our tour guide told us that he was going to turn off the lights in order that we might experience total darkness. For, as he explained, when you are above ground there is always some source of light - the sun, moon, stars, or some type of artificial light - but since we were now so far underground, no light would be able to penetrate. For just a few moments, we experienced total, complete darkness - and needless to say, it was quite a contrast.

Darkness is simply the absence of light, just as evil is the absence of good. It's our choice - do we want to walk as children of light (Eph. 5:8) or to love darkness and reject the light that is come into the world? The fact that we live in a world full of sorrows is precisely because man preferred the darkness - but this isn't what God intended for man, neither is it what He wants for us to continue.

In the coming months, I hope to post items which will look at Orthodoxy from a perspective of everyday life. My prayer is that those who read this blog will be edified by it. Please remember me, brothers and sisters, as I am a fellow struggler on the path of life, a path which I pray will lead us all to our Heavenly Homeland.