On 5 April 1815, Mount Tambora in Indonesia erupted violently. It was the largest volcanic eruption in recorded history. The cataclysmic explosion drastically altered the weather conditions not only in Asia, but across the world. The year that followed, 1816, became known as the Year without a Summer. That same year, the English poet Lord Byron penned “Darkness”.1 The poem speaks of terrifying scenarios, such as the extermination of the sun, or when one wakes from a dream only to realize that reality is strange and terrifying: “I had a dream, which was not all a dream // The bright sun was extinguish’d, and the stars // Did wander darkling in the eternal space ….”
Today, we may be feeling that we are facing not one but many Years without a Summer. As if the pandemic had not inflicted enough damage on the world, global citizens now face war, food shortages, inflation, and the climate crisis. As believers of Christ survey matters of the world and society, they may discern a parallel darkness looming over the church. Troubling civil matters like the LGBTQ+ debate, impact of the church on society, confines of education, and changing attitudes among the youth make the outlook seem ever more dysfunctional. On the personal front, whether professing faith in Christ or not, every individual faces also death, sickness, tension, and dark memories.
In “All I Have Is Christ”, songwriter and pastor Jordan Kauflin wrote of a darkness that delivered empty promises of a “hell-bound race”.2 But not all darkness is a result of rebellion and sin. Sometimes, it is the shadows that so easily make us forget the One who commands the sun to bring the dawn, who turns midnight into noon and darkens day into night (Amos 5:8). Kauflin’s song speaks of this same One as the bearer of the wrath and suffering for our guilt and punishment, whose love displayed in this way has shown us grace.
Whichever form of darkness we face, we can confidently align our perspective with the apostle Paul’s, who wrote in Romans 8:18–20, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. … [The] creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.”
We see then that darkness is not permanent. The glory of God is. Frustration is not forever. Hope carries us toward a better freedom. Creation is now in bondage and subjection until we, the created ones in God’s image, fully redeem our eternal liberty as children of God. Beyond the gloom of Lord Byron, for whom darkness “was the Universe”, we can confidently look forward to a better hallelujah. As Kauflin put it, our ransomed life in Christ is for the Father to use in any way he chooses. As children of light, may we look beyond and rise above any darkness, knowing that the “all sufficiency” of Christ alone is more than enough for us.
For Discussion
Has darkness ever so loomed over your life that it consumed your full attention? Identify what the issues were—emotional, financial, family, sexual; respect, career, pressure, friends, and so on. How do you think the Lord would want you to face each of these issues in the light of His eternal glory, secured promises, and enduring love?
