PASSING THE TORCH
Imagine the Olympic flame, carried
from Mt. Olympus, sun-ignited, to the center of world attention, the
Games. When the last runner finally
enters the arena, the crowd erupts into jubilation! But, imagine the shock and horror if the
torch should be dropped and the flame extinguished!
“ye are the light of the world…” is
one of the metaphors chosen by Jesus to describe his followers. Unlike the Games, we do not pass a single
torch, but rather take, from Mt. Calvary, the Son-ignited flame, to every back-road
and main street we may travel, spreading the flame throughout the darkness,
encouraging any and all to raise their torch and join the race.
Envision the darkness being pushed
into the nether realm as the whole globe is enlightened. Like a burst of embers from a bonfire,
torches scatter, inflaming others who also spread. And, the darkness retreats into crevices
fearing exposure, even there!
But, the darkness pushes back. Cold winds extinguish torches as runners sit
down for one reason or another. Families,
villages, even whole territories shiver in cold darkness because the torch has
not been passed. A runner throws down
his torch, and thereby, curses, into darkness, the next two or three
generations of his own! Some sit to
camp, and revel around their fire; and across the river they languish in fear
and futility in the shadows. Open our
eyes to the darkness of the abyss and, moreso, the brilliance of Your glory.
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