#12 Overwhelming Darkness

Well, I hope you have enjoyed this series on the great and mighty bat. In recent years, I have really come to love this character and his adventures. Not just because they are a great fit for the halloween season (along with my own love of all things dark and creepy,) but because of the real, authentic wrestling that the series does with darkness. But while it does not shy away from hurt, pain and the temptation to give into them, it also continues to remind people that they can still find a beacon of hope, even on their darkest night. No matter how dark it is outside, or inside, there is still a way for good to prevail. And I think that’s worth getting excited about. 

I have always been a fan of capturing the bad side well. It’s not because I’m rooting for the bad guys, but because it adds to the impact of the good guy winning. If you can effectively capture the bigness and badness of the bad stuff, then the win that the hero gets is all the more exciting. It’s an art that I have always admired. It’s almost as if the darker we paint the night sky, the brighter the stars shine through. Strange how that works. 

And maybe that’s also because I find it so difficult to hope sometimes. It can often feel like it’s impossible for things to end well. That a good ending just isn’t in the cards for me. I know that sounds depressing, but it can be all too easy to fall into that belief. Even as a Christian, there are certain things in my life that don’t feel like I can truly hope for. For me, the world of Gotham really embodies all of the forces in the universe that feel like they are stacking up against me, collaborating with one another to take me down and keep me pinned to the floor. That part often feels quite real to me. 

And then someone flips on the bat-signal, and a single ray of hope shatters the darkness. The night may not be over, but at least we can find the strength to carry through it. Maybe we can actually start to believe that one day things will be alright. Maybe the sun will find its way over the horizon once again. 

Maybe that’s you today. Maybe you also need that beacon of hope. When I can’t seem to redeem the moment that I am in, or to pretend that I believe that my life is going much of anywhere, I am at least reminded of the book of revelation, that reminds us that one day all the tears and sorrows will be wiped away. If nothing else can find you this day, you can at least cling to that. 

But as I was searching for something genuine to write in response to the crushing weight of darkness, something else came to mind as well. I heard the whisper of one of the first lines of the Lord’s prayer:

Thy Kingdom Come.

Jesus tore the veil on the cross to be able to bring heaven here to earth right now. What does that mean? This means that the paradise that God has planned for us doesn’t start when we die. It starts today! He wants to bring it into our lives and into our hearts this very day! 

But it’s hard to get excited about this when it turns out not to be a cosmic pain-killer. After all, Jesus also said that life would still have problems. How, then, can any of this bring hope? Well, check the next line (oh, this is John 16:33, by the way.) It reads “but don’t worry, I have overcome the world already.” I take this to mean that He has given us Himself to us as a force that runs stronger and deeper than the pain. His presence can help us through all of life’s challenges. It’s sort of like if your doctor said that you might be sore or sick after surgery. It doesn’t make you any less sick, but it makes the sickness a little more tolerable because someone is telling you that it’s all part of a plan. And one day, we will get to see the whole plan. 

So light your beacon of hope and know that good things will one day find you. That day may be near or it may be far, but know that hope is always there, and it has a name. It has a face, and open arms just waiting to welcome you into them. So embrace Jesus and let Him fill you with life. 

And watch Batman because it’s awesome. 

Until Next time

May Peace be your Guide.