In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
On the first day of Creation, God called forth light into existence, and then separated the light from the darkness (Genesis 1:3–4). There has been a divide between the two ever since. Despite all the efforts that have been made through the centuries to blur that distinction, light and dark remain as divided as ever. The Apostle Paul compared what happened on that first day of Creation with what happens in our hearts when we receive Christ as Savior: we are immediately moved from darkness into light.
Like the moon reflects the light of the sun rather than giving off its own light, we are to reflect the light of God's glory to the world around us. There is no question that we live in a world filled with darkness. Things are not getting better. That is no surprise, for nearly two thousand years ago, Paul warned Timothy that in the last days “evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived” (2 Timothy 3:13).
However, we should not allow ourselves to be discouraged because of the darkness. The growing evil in our world makes the light even brighter by contrast. God is not struggling to overcome Satan. That battle has already been won, and the future is certain. We simply must be faithful to shine as lights in the world for as long as God leaves us here.
The darkness around us gives us even more opportunity to show the light of God's love to the world.