Being the light in the darkness

In the last month, I have traveled back-and-forth across the country. I’ve been to multiple different states and experienced hundreds of different people. There’s been one common expression. "I really needed a laugh." I have heard this said many times over the years. I have been in Comedy for a long time. . But I don’t think I have heard it as much as I have in the last few weeks. You would have had to be living in a secluded wooden lodge with no Internet connection to not know what’s happening in the world around us right now. You can’t turn on your phone, TV, or even walk into a store without hearing what is happening. We can’t even sit out at dinner without hearing tables around us talk about politics or even arguing over their viewpoints.

So, what does that leave people needing? Laughter, not just laughter, but joy. They need moments of release. And I believe they need chances to breathe in between harsh, angry, and sometimes even violent outbursts from not just strangers but their peers and neighbors. As I scroll through social media, I see posts from people who say, "I can’t believe this happened," or "I thought I knew this person." People we thought we knew become angry, bitter, or even outright rage-filled over things they feel passionate about. And sometimes it goes even farther to terrifying.

As I step on stage, I know why I’m there. I know it is my role, calling, responsibility, passion, all of the above, to share the joy I have found in the Lord with every single person in the audience, not only in the audience, but also the person running the soundboard, the person at security, and the person who is cleaning the bathrooms. If you were an earshot of the microphone, my prayer is that you have a chance to laugh, giggle, or even just shake your head at what I am saying. My material has and always will be life. The chaos, the ridiculousness, the things that might be embarrassing to some, but I find absolutely hilarious. Now more than ever we need to find connection. We need to find a chance for moments of being seen, even if it’s at an event of hundreds, if not thousands of people. Last week I had an event, I joked about growing up in a time where we could walk into the store and buy cigarettes for our parents. And ladies shouted out the cigarette orders that they were allowed to go in and buy. It was a silly moment in a large room of women where we connected over the absurdity of being able to walk in a store and purchase cigarettes for our parents. Of course, there were lots of women in that room who had no idea what we were talking about. And I’m sure there were lots of women in that room who judged our parents for even sending us to the store to do that but for a handful of us and that moment we bonded over the shared experience of carrying a five dollar bill into a gas station to talk to Bob behind the counter to pick up a pack of Marlboro lights.

Division is all around us right now. And as a believer, I believe the enemy wants that. He wants other believers to attack each other. He wants to see Christian attack Christian, so that the Church will fall apart. If brothers and sisters in Christ, can’t even agree on how to love each other then we cannot share the love of God.. If our joy isn’t authentic, no one wants to follow the love of Christ. My heart breaks as I pictured Jesus looking down, the nail scared hands leanded ober his knees. As he shakes his head and says "I never said that" and "I came for them too" He suffered so much in a world that had division the same way as we do. It may not look the same, but the culture was just as rotten. The hearts were just as critical. And the same enemy is roaming the Earth coming to kill, steal, and destroy. But, we have the same Holy Spirit ready here and able to empower us with the fruit of his Spirit. We have love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and self-control. We don’t have to earn it. We have the word of God as a promise of what has been done and what is to come.

It’s not easy to look around at this fallen world and see all the darkness around us. But if we look hard enough, we can see all the light that’s happening too. When we don’t look and see any light happening, then we have the opportunity to be the light that needs to be happening. Because that is our chance to illuminate in the darkness. This picture is from a plane at night. I love looking down and seeing the lights. I imagine this is what we look like as beleivers in this dark world.

That is our calling, passion, purpose. It can be a smile to stranger today. a card to a friend. A text to check in on someone. Ask the Lord what he would want you to do today and everyday to be the light in these dark days. It can be anything. Let Him use you. We can sit and complain about how bad the world has gotten or we can be the light he has called us to be. And speak gratitude for his grace while doing so. We have his salvation always. This world is not our home.....just a stopping point to garden on the way home. How many fruits and flowers are you tending and sowing before you go home?