Light is not Quenched

“Nurture the Light”, digital painting by Mark R. Turner. As darkness insists on dominance, the Light cannot be quenched in the inner person who acknowledges their need and allows God to create Light within them. This partnership between God and us generates Love that overcomes the darkness and grows Creation on the tiny spark of earth in the universe at large. As Jesus said, “You are the light of the world … Let your light so shine that others will see your good works and glorify the Father in heaven.” This is the mystical embracing of spiritual reality that manifests in our word and deed. Prints HERE.

In our cosmic formation I believe the majority of people still prefer the light. The recent American nationalistic campaigns witnessed the dark side out-maneuvering a campaign for light and progress. I have listened to well-meaning people who despise the con man at the head but voted for him thinking they were using the bad to accomplish what they think is Good. Many who voted for the dark side did so out of fear of progress while paradoxically being repulsed by the old adolescent at the head.

Many have been enamored by the marketing of his unconventionality and “breaking the rules”. Focusing on his oddity and refusal to respect society’s rules, does not validate him and blinds his followers to the consequences we now must bear.

But where should our focus be? On the cosmic implications of our finite national decisions; it aught to be on the essence of our creation, who humans are and where we come from. This goes beyond all the stuff and institutions we build around ourselves.

I note and offer prayers for four of many aspects of the misdirection which occurred:

Ignorance

  • Denial of reality, re-writing history, revising law to make crime go away, ignoring history, not learning from past mistakes, not benefiting from the wisdom of the ages, little if any self-reflection or study, hating education, distrusting a woman in favor of bullying brutality, racism
  • GOD HAVE MERCY AND RAISE US OUT OF OUR IGNORANCE

Self-justifying mental games

  • Elaborate theories which re-explain wrongness as rightness, spiritualizing wrongness in order to take it out of intellectual debate (“prophecies”), twisting religion to justify bad behaviors and create convenient “truth”, misappropriating Jesus and the Bible as tools to justify one’s preferences, claiming to be uninvolved, “objective” and above it all
  • GOD HAVE MERCY AND RESTORE OUR MINDS

Materialism

  • Gluttony, self-centered consumerism, sensuality, competition to get more, a world view limited to owning as much physical stuff as possible, trying to be in the billionaire category instead of the poor category (siding with billionaires and corporations)
  • GOD HAVE MERCY AND REVIVE OUR CONNECTION WITH THE SPIRIT AND TRUTH

Delusion

  • Willingly swallowing lies and adopting views out of fear and self-centeredness, neglecting the inconvenience and work of fact-checking or researching alternatives, following one’s gut instead of thinking and self-discipline, laziness, hoping that if we repeat a fantasy long enough it will become reality
  • GOD HAVE MERCY AND FORGIVE US FOR TURNING AWAY FROM THE GOOD

As for the survival of Goodness: much abuse of good-loving people will be perpetrated regardless of which way they voted, as the masses are only tools to the in-coming regime. But Good has the nature of impossible resurrection. When the evil empire falls and crumbles away, people continue and life presses on toward the Greater Good. Evil proves itself unworkable and fails.

Even when our campaigns for Good are out-maneuvered, we have still implanted the Truth in the memories of survivors who carry it on past the end of evil empires. Despite suffering grave consequences, there are many who continue to hold the truth and light through the darkness. We must support one another in this trek as harbingers of Life yet to come.

Remember now your Creator Who has nurtured humanity from the beginning. A human once remembered and wrote Psalm 66:

Be joyful in God [not in our material wealth, institutions, winning elections]
All the earth bows down before you …
Come now and see the works of God …
… For you, O God, have proved us;
you have tried us just as silver is tried.
You brought us into the snare;
you laid heavy burdens upon our backs.
You let enemies ride over our heads;
we went through fire and water;
but you [not our own power, or some dictator] brought us out into a place of refreshment …

People still awaken from nightmares.

Life is unquenchable in God’s universe.

2 Responses

  1. Barry

    Mark, Thank you for articulating the very public and evident dark clouds we’ve invited over ourselves as a nation. May God have mercy on us. We will bear the consequences. It is still a moral universe where we have to take responsibility for our actions and their consequences.

    • markart

      Yes, Barry. Some (mostly the privileged) may claim “objectivity” and passively accept this as “God’s will”. But blaming God for peoples bad choices has a long tradition. God’s will is that we experience the consequences and learn from them. The response I want to remind myself of is to encourage everyone to keep being the Light in word and deed, and not let this present darkness overcome the Light. Keep identifying with the universal Light above all nationalities and let it shine within our communities transformatively.

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