In my younger years I aspired to be an artist. During my formal times of studies I fell in love with the work of Salvador Dali and surrealism. When people speak of Salvador they often will use the word “juxtaposition” which describes the process of joining together items which don't normally find themselves in the same space: life and death, love and hate, sunrise and thunderstorm. When applied to the world of art juxtaposition generates a sense of disequilibrium that causes you to stop and think, linger and question. But when juxtaposition appears in our everyday world, in individual lives, it simply wrecks you.
Last Wednesday a 23 year-old woman and her fiancé boarded a private bus in downtown New Delhi, India. A little over an hour later their bodies where dumped into the city street where they were left for dead. The man had been knocked unconscious by a metal pipe to the head. The woman, who had suffered both internal and external wounds after being gang rapped by multiple men on the bus, died shortly after in a local hospital.
The story haunted me for days, as it did the entire country of India, which took to the streets to demand more protection and equal rights for women who are treated like second-class citizens. This story, coupled with the recent tragedies in Newstown, the civil war in Syria, and the deeply personal news that two of my close friends have recently chosen separation from their wives left my faithless heart feeling as if the Kingdom of darkness might finally be winning. Darkness was on the move.
Then, less than a week later I found myself in the Georgia Dome surrounded by almost 70,000 college aged students from all 50 states, 53 countries, and 2,022 different college campuses singing songs of worship to Jesus and praying for his kingdom to come here to Earth. Juxtaposition, light was breaking over the hills.
The Passion 2013 conference is dedicated this year to the theme of Freedom, focusing almost exclusively on ending human slavery and freeing the 27 million victims in our lifetime. Last night we watched a wrenching video of a 12 year old girl sold into the sex slave industry by her uncle and her miraculous rescue. Then, in one of the most powerful moments in my recent memory, the spotlight turned onto the crowd to reveal that the rescued young woman was worshiping in our midst. The jubilation that erupted and the unashamed, uninhibited worship that followed was nothing short of supernatural.
I stood in the middle of that glorious moment and simply starred out to the sea of 70,000 outstretched arms, tear soaked faces and voices belting out the glorious truth about God and his undeniable rescue of the world through Jesus and had one incredibly clear thought…the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it (John 1:5).
New Dehli, Newtown, Syria, divorce, human slavery, the unspeakable evil in our world is the death throws of a Kingdom of Darkness that cannot stand against the power the Kingdom of Light. The defeat of the evil one is certain and if this week has been any indicator, God may very well choose to use this passionate, unashamed, and spirit-filled generation to issue the final blow. Jesus said “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart for I have overcome the world,” (John 16:33) and I am watching a generation of men and women who believe that promise and who are ready to expand his Kingdom into every corner of this world. Darkness, run and hide.
