John 3:1-2a. “Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night.”
Our friend Nicodemus is in the dark, and the darkness is within him. The darkness is not evil but rather hidden and holy. This is a darkness the mind does not understand. How can these things be?
Though uncomfortable and disorienting, this darkness is not bad, in fact, it may even be womb-like. This darkness is not the end of faith but holds the dawn of a new kind of faith. This dark night of the soul guides Nicodemus (and you and me) into the divine mystery that lies beyond understanding, answers, or explanations.
If we are willing to grow in that holy, hidden, dark space, we just might:
- Spend more time listening to what God is saying;
- Recognize that God is bigger than the names or attributes we use to describe God;
- Allow the wind of God to take us places we might not otherwise consider;
- Trust God to call forth from us that which we do not yet realize is within us;
- Seek experience instead of answers; and
- Live eternal life as a present reality.
*Originally written for and published by Forward Day by Day.
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