By: Brandon James Scott Scholl
The bible says in 1 John 1:5 that where there is light, darkness cannot be. Within that paragraph where that verse, it explains that in the instance of light and darkness, it's talking about Christ and Satan.
With that thought of Christ being light and Satan being darkness, this got me thinking about two things in particular. The first, and the smaller of the two thoughts, is without light, darkness is abundant, which I'll explain in a moment. The other thought is, if you're possessed or were possessed and then later in life went to church and went through being saved, does the fact you were possessed previously mean that you won't end up in Heaven? That I'll go into more detail next to explain what I mean.
Now, it isn't like darkness is a complete entity like light is. Darkness is a primary thing unless there's a light in place, turning darkness away and light taking over that particular place. In this case, that would have to do with Christ being within the heart of a man or woman who are saved and born again. Now, with that, it makes me think back to the Fall in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve eat the fruit off the tree of knowledge, and God casts them out of the Garden. That's when God curses both Man and Woman and man's inherently sinful nature starts throughout the Human race. With following this thought a little further, it would show that when the bible talks about Christ being the light and Satan and sin being the opposite of what Christ stands for, it would be confirmed that regardless of age or lifestyle, that darkness dwells in you unless you're saved as a Christian.
This thought may make people uncomfortable if they open their mind up to the complete list of scenarios that this would be applied to. Whether you're talking about a grandparent that was the best grandparent in all of history and led a life full of giving and charity, then dying. If there was no light within that person's heart or soul as a result of accepting Christ, that would mean they wouldn't be going to heaven. Or, the other end of the spectrum, and I know this is the type of thought that people get up in arms about and don't ever want to even think about, but the same would go for a baby that was born and died within it's infancy. Babies are innocent and may not have even had a chance to choose between making a right or wrong decision. However, that doesn't change the Word of God simply to make us feel better to sleep at night.
Think about it. As a child grows, you don't have to teach them how to steal, cheat, or be violent. That's all part of human nature. In fact, you have to teach them the opposite and stop that behavior from being primary. That's an example of darkness being the state of the soul due to not having the light that is Christ within it.
I went and listened to a guest speaker one night at Northwest Nazarene University here in Idaho. My girlfriend is now a senior there and she had to listen to the speaker for one of her classes at the time. While the speaker was talking, he told the audience about what it's like coming from a native american background and becoming saved and fighting with the side of himself that was raised around sweat lodges, and praying to various gods and sacrifices of various sorts. As he continued, he explained about how he wanted to be educated and no more about the Bible and then go and teach young Native Americans that were in a situation like his and were saved or even simply curious about his beliefs. He went on about how, when reading the Bible, we shouldn't be reading it within a scope or parameters of what we THINK it should say or mean, but have the Bible and God's Word itself tell us in it's completeness how to live and believe. RIGHT after he said that, he said that he believes that when an infant or child dies, they automatically go to heaven. He didn't have a reason as to why this was a correct belief and said they were 100% sure that they would eventually find the scriptures to back up their belief on that.
This is the type of people out there nowadays that believe what they want and take only parts of the Bible that THEY decide, and simply ignore the parts they don't agree with or feel uncomfortable with and simply blame it on the Bible being translated so many times or that it was so long ago that it can't be confirmed that something was ever said or done contrary to their beliefs.
Honestly, there are things I read in the Bible that I wish I didn't even know existed or that I have come across while reading. But, that doesn't change the fact the Bible says what it does and supports itself by saying that it's God breathed and His words don't come back void. So, the next time you read something in the Bible that makes you uncomfortable or you don't want to be true, do your research on the matter and see what other scriptures say. Don't put a set of parameters on the Bible when you read it, but let it put parameters on how you're to live your life and conduct yourself as a man or woman of God.
