It was a beautiful moonlit summer night. I decided to take a walk in the woods behind my house. I got behind my shed, which blocked out the big dusk-to-dawn light. It was like stepping into another world --soft dim bluish lighting, and the shadows were all but blurred into the dim light. It was surreal out there. My eyes adjusted to the light and I found myself dodging branches and limbs, stepping over obstacles, almost as if it was daylight.
In a clearing, I heard a growl. It was quite close, but I couldn't identify its source! Most likely, I'd startled a raccoon, but even a raccoon, when cornered, can cause quite a bit of damage. My eyes were telling me I could see, but I really couldn't see what was important or dangerous. The leaves thrashed and crashed as whatever it was ran deeper into the woods growling and grunting the whole way. Yeah, I thought that to be a cool experience. I wandered around some more and headed back to the house.
I neared the shed and looked back to the woods. Bright moonlight is beautiful. The woods felt so alive. I walked back to the house and into that nasty old bright dusk-to-dawn light. I covered my eyes and even winced a little. Then I imagined a creature who lived in the dark and how it would cower from such light. To see such critters in any kind of light, we have to be very careful and introduce it slowly. The light hurts the dark, and things accustomed to living in the dark. It irritated my eyes and I'd only been out in the moonlight for maybe half an hour.
Then the Biblical parallels to my experience rushed in. John 1:5 is one where I particularly like versions which say the darkness did not comprehend or understand the Light. Psalm 119:105 says a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. What it says is you can still see darkness around you, but if you stay in the light, you won’t stumble. It doesn’t say a floodlight in your eyes, blinding you to things of the dark. That bright, in-your-face approach doesn’t work on many. It’ll more likely drive potential converts back into darkness. I may live in the Bible Belt, but that’s not usually the best way to win souls.
I like Jaci Velasquez's song, Show You Love where she sings, "Please forgive me, if I start to preach, 'cuz I don't want to be the one to push you out of reach..." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1u3jGLQRBQ
