The Speed of Darkness - Proverbs 4:19

 The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble. - Proverbs 4:19

    Everyone talks about the speed of light. They even have it down to a speed of 186,000 miles per second. Scientists say that light travels approximately one foot in a nanosecond. That is one billionth of a second. We have all kinds of measurements for the speed of light. But how fast is the speed of darkness?
    Many argue that it is a nonsense question because darkness is merely the absence of light while others conclude that darkness is actually faster than light. Try this experiment: go into a room that is lit by a single bulb and close the door or pull the blinds. Do whatever you have to do to make sure that the single bulb is the only source of light in that room. Now, turn off the light. The darkness will envelope you immediately. That is exactly how quick darkness fills the void left by a light that has gone out. The speed of darkness is astounding and fearful . . . and it should be. But there is another grim reality about darkness. When used as an allegory for the absence of God in our lives it is both brutal and sufficient to bring condemnation upon those who dwell in it. “Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’” - Matthew 22:13.
    We know that before we have God in our lives there is a darkness that pervades every facet of our humanity. The negative metaphors for darkness are countless: blindness, confusion, ignorance, unconsciousness, obscurity, uncertainty, ambiguity, foreboding, sinfulness, fear, and the list goes on. Darkness reeks of instability. In fact, we instinctively “reach for the light,” when we enter a darkened room because darkness closes our perspective on things while light gives us the perspective we need to maneuver without stumbling. Analogically, we should all be reaching for the light. “Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.’” - John 8:12.
    We know that wherever there is no light all is darkness. In the very same way wherever there is no God, all is of sin - “For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.” - Romans 14:23(b).
    Prayer, Bible study, fellowship, more prayer, and faith in Jesus Christ keeps us in the light of God and out of the darkness of Satan! May we all be constantly “reaching for the light.”