The Total Eclipse

     For about four minutes, the sun was completely hidden behind the moon.  Still, though the light had dimmed significantly, it was not total darkness, because the sun was still there.   Even though it completely blocked out the sun, the moon could not entirely keep the light of the sun from illuminating the earth.

     Imagine if the sun actually disappeared from existence.  Instead of a few minutes of dimmed light, the light was completely removed.  Like the depths of a cave, no light, forever.  Never again to see the light of day, feel its warmth, or experience its life giving effects.  This is just one of the terrible aspects of hell: eternal separation from the Son.

     The eclipse was another clear evidence of God's orderly creation.  This was not some chance mystical occurrence.  We already know when the next eclipse will be and where it can be witnessed.  Why? Because God is the creator of order.  Order is not "natural" in the sense of what naturally occurs when elements are left to themselves.  Chaos begets chaos.  It takes an outside intervention to change chaos into order.  All of creation, from the whole of the universe to the smallest unseen atom is witness to creative design.  Order: predictable, laws of nature that scream of an omniscient creator.  

     The eclipse is another witness of the order of our world, but it is more.   It is an exclamation point, an emphatic reminder of what we take for granted.  After all, we experience an "eclipse" every 24 hours.  It's called day and night, sunrise and sunset.

     Watch the effects of sunrise.  There is darkness.  But gradually, light begins to reveal what the darkness hides.  Obscure, even frightening objects are revealed and understood.  Things within your view become clearer and clearer.  What's more, with the first hint of light, a bird begins to sing.   As light overcomes darkness, more and more songs are heard.  Almost imperceptibly, light ushers in a new day.  As the first beam of the sun bursts over the horizon, we see the glorious beauty of light.

     But there's more.  The light grows around us.  It becomes brighter and brighter.  We bask in its warmth, in its energizing effects.   A new day has begun.

     The day of the eclipse dawned like any other day.  But on this day we are especially reminded: Creation, the order of it, what we experience in it, is a picture of what is really real.

      The souls that do not have a relationship with God still enjoy God's blessing of creation.  They take it for granted.  Spiritually they like the light when it is convenient, but also like to hide in the darkness.  They don't want the light of the Son to shine too brightly on them.  They don't want their real soul and spirit to be revealed.  They prefer to deny what the light reveals and revel in darkness where they can believe in illusions.

     The light of the Son calls to them, invites them to live in His light.  But this invitation will not always be available.  Slowly their lives become shrouded in darkness.  The light slips away.  Unlike the eclipse, the darkness will continue to fade.  The opportunity to live in the light will slip away, until, total darkness.  Hell.  Total separation from God.  No more of God's blessings poured out on all.  Everything good comes from God.  There is NOTHING good in hell.  Hell is the absence of anything good.  No pleasure, no relief, no comfort, no light: total darkness, forever.  No life giving warmth but instead a tormenting fire, like the heart of a volcano...forever.

     Without God our lives are shrouded in darkness.  As life, physical life, progresses, the darkness grows.  We can pretend that we can see clearly in our darkness, but our spirit knows we are lying to ourselves.  We can pursue all kinds of false gods to light up our lives, but it is still dark.  One day we will find that we are in total darkness.  Then it will be too late to turn to the Light.

     It does not need to end this way.  God gives us the gift of His light.  When we are "saved" we turn from darkness to His light.  Even during the four minutes or so of the total eclipse, there was still some light.  There is the hope, the knowledge, that the light is still there.  When a soul is saved from the darkness of sin it is like that glorious moment when the first ray of the sun emerged from behind the moon.  With that first glorious shaft of light, everything changed.  Immediately, darkness was dispelled.  It is a magnificent moment, but that's not all.

     When we turn from the darkness that is our sinful human condition to the Light of the Son, He gives us a new life in His Light.  That first beautiful beam of light that chases the darkness away would be enough, but He doesn't stop there.  

     As the sun emerged from the eclipse, its light became brighter and brighter.  The darkness in our hearts can be turned to day.   We can begin to truly live as we were created to live.  The light will grow in us.  Lingering shadows of darkness will be gradually dispelled.  What we thought we knew will become clear.  Illusions will be replaced with truth.

     Religious terms like "salvation" do not have to be difficult to understand. God wants to have a relationship with you.  He created you, predestined you to be in a loving, fulfilling relationship with Him as His child.  He is everything that is good, but humans chose evil, and are separated from God.  God, incredibly, loves each individual person with a pure, unchangeable love, so much that He made a way for our broken relationship to be fixed.  We earned darkness and hell.  God offers a gift of light and life and love.

     God is holy, which means He is purely good.  No sin, nothing bad, can live with God.  We have all sinned, and have earned separation from God in hell.   Jesus conquered death.  He died a human sacrifice to pay the debt for us.   Just as the moon cannot overcome the sun, death could not hold Jesus.   He died a human sacrifice to pay the debt for us, a debt we could never pay on our own.   Our path leads to hell, unless we accept His offer to leave that path and start on a new path with Him as our Leader, our Guide, our Lord.  

    We are traveling on the road of life toward that total eclipse, only when we reach the point of total darkness, there will be no hope of light anymore.  Look for His light today, before it is too late.

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For further information and explanation, see the Salvation section.