If you have ever visited one of the large caves in this part of the country, at some point in the tour you have had the lights turned off. It is just part of the experience. The staff will turn off the lights and let visitors see what total darkness is like. Before the lights go out they will always caution you not to move around in the dark. Darkness can be very disorienting. Even in our own homes, if the lights suddenly go out, we must move very carefully to avoid stumbling into obstacles that may be in our way. In the bible the difference between navigating in the dark or in the light is used in a spiritual sense. In 1 John 2:10 John says of one who abides in the light of God’s word that “there is no cause for stumbling in him.” However, the one living in darkness “does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.” (verse 11). Using the light of God’s word we can see where we came from (Genesis 1), we can see where we are going (2 Corinthians 5:10), and we can see our lives’ purpose (Ecclesiastes 12:13). If we try to rely on man’s science or man’s philosophy to tell us where we came from, where we are going, or what our purpose in life is, we are reduced to stumbling around in the dark. It is important to note that we have been given a choice. We can decide whether to walk in the light of God’s word or we can decide to stumble around in the dark. Sadly, most people choose to live in darkness. In John 3:19-21 Jesus said, “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.” The choice is ours. We can “walk in the light, as He is in the light” (1 John 1:7) or we can choose to be consigned to “the blackness of darkness forever.” (Jude 13).