A walk in the woods in late winter after the snow has all melted but before the colors of spring are present is a gloomy experience. Everything is dark and drab. It was during such a walk that my eye was immediately drawn to something white which stood in stark contrast to the darkness that surrounded it. What I discovered was a shelf fungi growing on the side of a fallen tree, a light shining in the darkness. Opposites attract. A black spot on white paper demands notice just as a solitary white star on an otherwise dark sky demands our attention. The writers of scripture often use light and darkness to illustrate how followers of Christ are to live. We all lived lives in darkness before we came to faith, although we didn't realize the extent of the darkness until we were brought into the light. Now, as children of light, we stand in stark contrast to the darkness that surrounds us. And that is precisely what we are supposed to do. It is to our shame that so many of us cast off so little light that the world can hardly see the difference. We have light because we reflect light. It is not enough to say that our Savior has light, he is light, and the closer we are to him the brighter our reflected light becomes. If people in darkness are only exposed to darkness, then that is all they believe they need. But when they see a contrast, a stark difference, their eyes begin to see and their hearts begin to yearn for something better. It is then that it becomes our privilege to point them to the source of all true light. And it is then when they encounter him that they become new creatures with new eyes and new hearts. And it is then that they, as children of light, become additional reflected lights in a very dark world.  -  John