The Light in the Darkness -2 John 1
Letter from the Editor – Ron Barnes
When I was in college, I had a summer job as a camp counselor for Camp of the Nations, the camp run by Dr. Bill Shade. Among the top highlights of the junior high week was the hayride, where a tractor would pull a hay wagon around the camp roads in the pitch-black trails along this section of the Endless Mountain Region in North Central Pennsylvania.
Camp was an adjustment for the inner-city kids, because they had never been in total pitch-black conditions. Their most prized possession at camp would be their flashlights. They could find their way to their cabins and restrooms in the dark of night, but the flashlights were prohibited during the hayride.
As is often the case in camp ministry, it was necessary on occasion for me to fill in for different vacancies around camp, and occasionally it was as the hayride tractor driver. On my maiden voyage serving as the captain of the hayride, I learned a very valuable lesson: not to do a U-turn too tightly with a hay-wagon full of 50 inner-city junior high girls without flashlights. Actually, you shouldn’t do it period, but the consequences with this group were far greater.
I made this turn so tight the weight of the wagon popped the tire. So, a mile and a half away from camp, 50 junior high inner-city girls and I make our way back along the pitch-black trail with my one mini flashlight. There was a lot of imagination being used that night for what the darkness held, and these poor girls were gripped with real and true fear.
It didn’t take long for them to discover that a mini flashlight in the hands of someone they could trust would ease their fear and give them comfort. So, as I and my 50 new best friends headed back to camp in a very close and tight large huddle, the screams stopped, the fear went away, and we safely returned to the safety of civilization.
Darkness can be terrifying. It can be disorienting. Dark times can be unbearable. But the beauty of light, any light, is that no amount of darkness can overpower it. John describes this in chapter 1 of the Gospel of John, and further testifies that he had a role in making the Light be seen through him, that he might be used as a witness of the Light.
What the world has experienced in 2020 is something the world has never experienced before and has therefore not been in any way prepared for it. The back and forth of “experts,” governments, and medical professionals prescribing resolutions, cures, protections, only later to backtrack, certainly compounds the level of anxiety and discouragement. This is not a criticism of any of these groups. In fact, as a leader in charge of my own little area of influence, I can appreciate the complexity of having right answers.
But while the world has been trying to solve the COVID crisis, a symptom of the fall of man, Source of Light missionaries around the world have been actively and creatively addressing man’s greatest need, to meet and know the true Light of the World.
In these days of uncertainty, SLM missionaries have been busy sharing the Gospel and helping people grow in their faith. Early on, I asked our people to commit to pray for all those years of Gospel and discipleship lessons that have been misplaced, filed away, stored for later, and a myriad of other possibilities, that people would rediscover them. We began to meet weekly for what will likely become a regular part of the SLM culture, Zoom video meetings, where we can share prayer and praise, and update each other on what God is doing.
Each week our missionaries share raw stories that we have not been hearing of in the United States because our media is keeping us focused on the situation “at home.”
Many people in developing countries will never know how many died from Coronavirus, because those numbers are dwarfed by those who have died from starvation or lack of access to basic medical resources because of the lockdowns. Testing kits are reserved for the lucky few with connections or financial means.
These times of prayer and praise have become a weekly oasis from the hardships they are facing, and come as great encouragement and gave hope as we began to see the fruit grow even when we were “shut down” as a society. I challenged each of our teammates weekly to not waste an ounce of time when the world is looking for even the slightest glimmer of light in this very dark time.
Week after week we are hearing reports, fruit of the good use of time in this pandemic.
God is not only at work even in this darkness, but we believe the darkness has greatly removed the distractions the world usually has, so the Light of the World can be seen even more brightly.
This Reaper is dedicated to hearing some of these amazing stories and to honoring those who pushed through even some of their own sadness, hardship, and discouragement to “bear witness of the Light.” It is our hope and prayer that this Reaper will encourage and inspire you in your own walk and ministry to be bearers of the Light in this darkened world.
