The Return of the King

"Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad...for [the Lord] cometh, for He cometh to judge the earth; He shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with His truth." Ps. 96:11, 13

There is an old story that has been told and retold again and again (in some form or another) throughout human history. It is a story about a land of some kind being bereft of its rightful leader for some reason, and now the land sits in long anticipation for the return of its headship. In the meantime, the land is overrun with evil forces, or ruled over by incompetent and inadequate rulers, or both. Waiting long for the leader's return can make the heart grow cold eventually, and it seems that those who even remember their master or his return are the minority. That minority continues, however, to stoke the flames of anticipation in those who will listen as they pass on their stories again and again. Meanwhile, the land lies dark and dormant, possibly in the hands of an enemy, waiting watching less and less for its good and rightful leader.
As much as we like the relegate such idealism to childish tales (and thus degrade childish tales), the truth is that such a story lies at the heart of our ever-present reality. The whole world lies in darkness, bereft of its rightful leader and lordship (ironically by our own devices), and its current prince is a usurper and monster, whose intentions towards us are malicious at best. In the midst of that dark reign, however, there are those strange messengers and magicians, those light-casters, who sow shimmering pearls of light like white sparks, and each shard of light kindles a fire whose flames crackle forth a declaration of the presence of our rightful ruler, His past works, and His imminent return. As Christians, we are the strange folk who proclaim (amongst other things) the anticipation of the return of our rightful ruler, the one who's headship and judgments will final put an end to all evil and bring peace at last.
This concept of the returning king, of the coming again of the rightful ruler to claim his throne and right all wrongs, is etched into the human heart for a reason, because we long for it dearly. From Homer to Tolkien, the fearless leader returns and brings with him wrath upon his enemies and salvation to his house. Such a thing is a deep yearning of the human heart that burns like an ember inside: the King is coming; He must come; He shall come; and all shall be well. The good news of Christianity is not just salvation but also this blessed hope: the return of the King. We must spread this news far and wide.

-Jon Vowell

Jesus: Light of the Dark World

"In Him was life, and that life was the light of men; and the light shineth in the darkness, and darkness cannot lay hold of it." John 1:4-5

"Everyone that does evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds shoould be exposed." John 3:20

"The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it that the works thereof are evil." John 7:7

"To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth." John 18:37

"For this purpose the Son of God was manifested: that He might destroy the works of the devil." I John 3:8b

The destruction of the enemy and his works begins and ends with the proclamation and revelation of the truth. Jesus was not hated because He lead military uprisings (which He didn't), nor because He merely taught us to love each other (which He also didn't); rather, He was hated because He spoke the truth to those in and of the darkness. The result was like fire and deadwood, or vampires and the sun, or sodium and water: it was not a pleasant mixture.
Jesus, however, was not here to mix pleasantly with all things: he was here to start a fire (Luke 12:49), to break a spell, both in word (His teachings) and in deed (the Cross). Jesus was the Light not just because He is and came from God, who dwells in Light inaccessible, but also because He was the truth and spoke the truth, and the darkness hated Him for it.
We too are called to be such a witness; not a witness to our own ideas or notions, but to the truth: the truth that God has revealed in His word and in Christ. As Christ was the light of the world (John 8:12) so too are we (Matt. 5:14-16). We are called to pierce the darkness with a hated yet unquenchable light, and thus we can expect the same ire but also the same victory. The world loves two things: (1) convenient lies that are easy to forget while they support our congenial apathy towards and complacency in Sin, and (2) uncertainty and doubt as an appropriate hiding place for our pet preferences and opinions. They love these things because they fear what truth and certainty will reveal about themselves and their preferences, viz., that they are weighed and found wanting before the holiness of God.
We are told to sow the word like seeds; what an image to think of the seeds as sparks of flaming light that illuminate the night and burn up the dead and rotting things! We are the light-casters: we bear witness to the truth, and in doing so cast shards of Heaven's light like fire round about. This is the fire that Christ has started and that we continue, until perhaps all the elements of the earth will melt by its fervent heat.

-Jon Vowell