M-G: 12.9.12 // Son-sweet

When Beverly and I visited the Lost Sea in eastern Tennessee a couple of years ago, we boarded a boat and launched out to the middle of this large voluminous subterranean lake which is recorded to be the largest underground lake in the U.S. (Guinness Book of World Records) and second largest in the world, however, much of the lake is yet to be explored and mapped. To illustrate just how dark the Lost Sea is naturally, they turned the lights off while we were floating on the lake; the darkness was startling. 

Most of our dark experiences are contaminated with light pollution. But when the lights went out there, it was darker than anything we had ever experienced. I held the palm of my right hand in front of my face and touched my nose softly and moved it slightly away; I could not detect even the slightest hint of an outline of my hand no matter how I positioned it. It gave new meaning to “pitch black.” Afterward, Beverly related that the stark darkness made her feel alone and slightly uncomfortable even though I was sitting right next to her. 

This wasn’t the darkness that absorbed any light or was punctuated by any traces of luminescence but the complete absence of light. It caused immediate disorientation. Without light in that cave network, a person could only grope in the darkness, never finding a way out. Once the lights were cut back on, everything returned to “normal.” The simple flip of a switch caused us to appreciate the beauty, practicality, and comfort of the light in a way we had never experienced before. “The lights out” experience was edgy but also educational, and oddly, illuminating! 

Solomon stated, “Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun” (Eccl 11:7). As we emerged from the Lost Sea, which is part of a cave system known as the Craighead Caverns, we drank the light and warmth of the sun as we would a cool refreshing glass of southern sweet tea.

Those who enjoy the Light (Psa 89:15) walk in the Light because they see the need for it, living in a very spiritually darkened world (Psa 119:105). Paul told the Christians at Colosse, “For we must never forget that he rescued us from the power of darkness, and re-established us in the kingdom of his beloved Son, that is, in the kingdom of light. For it is by his Son alone that we have been redeemed and have had our sins forgiven” (Col 1:13-14, Philips).

If we walk in the light as He is in the light, there is another benefit; it makes us Son-sweet, “we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 Jn1:7). Those who never forget the Gospel live the Son-sweet life. Like Isaiah of old pleading with the house of Jacob, “come let us walk in the light of the LORD” (Isa 2:5) and bathe and drink in the sweetness of the Son. <><