May 22, 2006
~Real Word~
John 12:46 (New Living Translation)
I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the darkness.
I was in Brazil, deep in the heart of the rain forest. It was midnight and a native friend asked me if I wanted to crocodile hunt. I thought he was kidding. I and four others piled into the small boat.
It was pitch black and trees hung over, crisscrossing to block the moonlight. I thought about the pirahhnas swimming perilously close to us. Water seeped over in drops as our combined weight made the boat ride low.
One of my new native friends had shown me a picture the day before. I thought it was joke. It was a photo of an anaconda split open from end to end. The snake was massive in width and length. Lying inside was a fully-dressed decomposing corpse. His clothes were that of a tourist –shorts, long white socks, and a funky hat he would have never worn at home.
“Stay out from under the trees on the Amazon,” he said when he showed me the picture.
I glanced up from my perch on the rocky boat. We were gliding under trees.
Crocodiles. Pirahhnas. Anacondas.
Oh, my.
The guide leaned over the edge of the boat. He handed me a flashlight and gestured for me to turn it on. Suddenly little yellow marbles were everywhere in the water.
I had already assumed he was kidding twice, and twice I found out I was wrong. For the first time I realized I should have taken this man seriously.
Suddenly he whipped his hands in the water and something slimy and long plunked at my feet.
A baby crocodile that was three feet long with amazingly sharp teeth.
Everyone in the boat gasped and I knew that I was not the only foolish one.
My friend flipped the croc over on its back and began to caress its tummy. Zonk! The croc fell asleep.
As we made our way back to the larger boat with the sleeping croc at my feet, I thought about the night, knowing it would make a great story, but also knowing that the chapter could have ended a thousand different ways.
I checked my outfit. Hmm. Just like the man in the anaconda, I would have stood out with my supposed-to-be rainforest gear. “What a foolish, foolish woman,” the gawkers would say as they stared at the photo.
That was one night — a beautiful, awful, enlightening journey in the rain forest.
But the reality is that many people walk blindly in the darkness of this world. They hope that someone is telling them the truth, leading them the right way, and sometimes they wonder how in the world they got themselves in such a place as this.
I learned from my experience that I should take people more seriously. That I should think before I jump into a boat surrounded by fish with teeth, with crocodiles that want nothing more than their next meaty meal, and with snakes longer than my living room.
But I’ve also learned with my walk with Christ that there is hope in the darkness. You are not alone. There is a light and his name is Jesus. He shines in the darkness so that you — the one he loves — can find your way to Him. You don’t have to stay where you are. It’s not impossible and your situation is not too big, and he will help you find the way out.
Turn to him today. Ask that light to help you. Trust that he cares for you and that he is truth. Begin the journey today out of the darkness as you trust the One who loves you most.
