Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence. (Ps. 73:13)
GODLY MEN AND WOMEN are often thrown into bad circumstances for the good of others. Search the Scriptures and you will read story after story of righteous people who find themselves in places very uncomfortable, uncertain, and sometimes even dangerous. We are called to be light in the darkness. I believe darkness means more than just having the lights off. Darkness, in the deepest sense of the word, means without God. Places where God is not welcome tend to be the most uncomfortable and sometimes downright scary places. We are also called to be salt in the midst of putrefaction; again, not the most pleasant place to be. We carry the words of life in the very presence of death.
It’s the good of others that sometimes demands such sacrifice or comes with such a high cost. To live any other way would be un-Christlike. In Acts 17:26–27, we read that God chose us to be a part of our generation. He determined the times in which we would exist (v. 26). He could have put us in any era, but He chose this day and age for us to live in. Not only that, but He prepared the exact locations we would live. God placed us here that we might seek Him and follow Him to a glorious destiny (Ps. 73:24).
Ask God to direct you in how to bring light into the darkness in your own community.
Scott Simmons is the author of iFollow: Connecting Belief and Behavior to Who You Are in Christ (WPH) and the youth ministry movement director for The Wesleyan Church.
