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I’m going to read a passage that has a haunting effect on me when I read it. This verse is the anchor point for this series which I hope will allow us to stop and reflect, not only upon our own inability to perceive and understand, but also the state of our world’s inability to perceive and understand. For those of you who listened to my series entitled: “What the Hell?”, a truly special and illumined consideration awaits you, so you’ll want to stay tuned into this series. The verse which will kick all this off is a statement from Jesus, which reads:

“ If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!” (Matthew 6:23)

Context is everything to accurate interpretation. I will now provide you a few contextual layers so these words become more visible. The context is that Jesus is giving his most famous Sermon on the Mount. He’s giving out bite sized nuggets of life-hacking truth, and the following verses are nestled in between “Store up treasure and heaven“ and “you can’t serve God and money.“ The context then is an admonishment that we distinguish between and prioritize spiritual treasure over earthly treasure. Thus these words become the “meat” in this treasure sandwich and reads as follows:

“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!”

The eye (Greek-hophthalmus) is our ability to see non-physical reality or to perceive or understand. (ex: “I see what you’re saying”) The eye rendered as a noun is referring to the verb of “seeing” or perceiving. If our ability to see non-physical (spiritual) reality is “aplous” (healthy, sound, generous) then our “soma“(physical being, body, bodily existence) is full of “phos/photos” (light), zero darkness.

In other words, spiritual seeing is true seeing in the light. But if our spiritual seeing is “poneros” (wicked, worthless, or sick) then our physical being is full of “skoteinos” (dark, state of darkness). The Greek explanation here helps us see Jesus’ point that if our seeing is dark, if we have no ability to perceive or to understand the spiritual world then we live in darkness, but more than that… we have no concept of the vast darkness in which we live.

Since this verse is sandwiched between two texts about “treasuring up“, we can deduce that its emphasis is on our affections or that part of us that “treasures”. This lends itself to a simple test of whether we live in a great darkness, namely: If God or divine union is of little treasure to us, if we have more affection for things in the world than for God, then our eye is not healthy and we live in a darkness so dark that we have no conception of it. This is why it haunts me.

The point of this series will be to illuminate just how we and our world have no concept of the vast darkness in which we go about life. Religion is not spiritual seeing and rarely produces a “healthy eye“. Those that claim they see are not likely to be true seers. Just as the religious minded were shown to be the blind ones by a man who was born blind yet was later healed by Jesus:

“Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes.” (John 9:30)

Literally, nothing any of us will do today, tomorrow, or at any point in our lives will be more important than spiritual seeing. This is the essence of “Thy will be done…”Our careers, our kids, our ambitions, our ministries, our hobbies…none of it, is more important than gaining a “healthy eye.” And yet, even the most devout among us are not “treasuring up” consistently. Our affection is for other things.

Let me explain…

“But if he (your bondservant) says to you, ‘I will not go out from you,’ because he loves you and your household, since he is well-off with you, then you shall take an awl, and put it through his ear into the door, and he shall be your slave forever. And to your female slave you shall do the same.” (Deuteronomy 15:16-17)

Captivity, enslavement, and loss of freedom are the hallmarks and evidence of those who lack spiritual seeing. The soul (psuké), or the inner self (kardia) is a slave to that which our affections (our wanter)goes after. There is a very small portion of people who truly have a heart that desires God. Even the most devout of any religion, in our pursuit of spiritual seeing discover that most of our affections are for ourselves, our sense of pride, and even our most sincere efforts are corrupted.

And that is the state of those who have treasured and given ourselves to the spiritual journey where the discovery of self and God converge. Now contrast this to what must be the spiritual state of the majority of our world who outright denies the existence of God and willfully exists, going about on God’s daily graces only to spit in His face. Or those who recoil viscerally when faced with even the potential engagement with spiritual conversations. My distribution list is full of those who can’t bear to open these posts, yet can’t bring themselves to unsubscribe.

Darkness…Darkness…Darkness. The Apostle Paul captures it well:

“For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” (Romans 1:21)

“They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.” (Ephesians 4:18)

Luke’s version of our core passage is slightly different. It reads:

“Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light.” (Luke 11:34-36)

Luke’s version of Jesus message is to “be concerned, be careful” that the light (understanding) in you is not darkness. Contextually, this is saying the same thing, we must value spiritual things more than earthly things, where corrosion and thieves cannot affect them. Our “kardia” (inner self/mind) is proximate (close to) that part of us that “treasures” or establishes value. Darkness is valuing that which has no real or ultimate value. Furthermore, the treasuring up part of our inner self, is enslaved between two opposing tensions which cause our treasurer to treasure one master and hate another. We are devoted to an earthly master while hating, despising, and avoiding our spiritual master. Darkness, in Luke’s account, is not being able to perceive the two kingdoms, or masters over us. Darkness is not realizing we are slaves…prisoners in a three-sided prison.

If we are honest…is this not the state of our world?

If we are truly honest…is this not the state of our self?

So what are we to do? What if we have come to this content and there is a shaft of light piercing through our darkness and we actually agree (for this moment) that our soul has been a long time in darkness?

We all know that religion has given the world a thousand answers to this question. Depending on which pastor, priest, Imam, or guru that we listen to, we will be given a “stairway to heaven,” an eight-fold path, five pillars, Ten Commandments, or an infinite list of do’s and don’ts designed to convince us that we are now walking in the light and somehow slightly better off than everyone else.

Is this not a trojan horse that props up our pride? Isn’t pride the evidence of utter darkness? Pride is not a month, it’s a cardinal sin. Pride is the false self believing it’s real, and avoiding the light of truth.

What if darkness isn’t empty? What if darkness, though horrifying, is a grace to the soul who has sincerely contemplated it? What if darkness is a wake-up call? Necessary friction? What if perceiving our darkness is the first step in purging it from us? If these questions arouse within you a “potential” then I will invite you into this biblical discovery which the modern world of religion and evangelicalism has largely forgotten. What if darkness has a purpose? Even beauty? When we are trapped in darkness, the light hurts us… and as I’ll show you in this series, light is the love that destroys us.

“If the light within you is darkness…how great is that darkness.”