A long time ago, the wisest man in the world at the time told a story of people living in a cave. The light shone from behind them and cast shadows on the wall of the cave. The people mistook the shadows for the reality. Because they were in chains, they were unable to look behind them and see the true light for what it was.
Plato believed that the world we are living in is only a shadowy reflection of reality. Somewhere out there existed an ideal universe perfected and controlled by what he imagined to be a perfect Mind. He was grasping toward something he never quite reached, and he knew it.
Four hundred years later, another wise man came to within a mile or two of where Plato wrote his story and provided the answers Plato was looking for. He said it in these simple words: “What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.”
It’s not much different today than it was then. The progressive destruction of the Biblical foundations of our society through centuries of rationalism in which we decided to be the ultimate judges of what is true and what isn’t has led us into an almighty mess.
Have we discovered truth? Well, science has certainly advanced. But the world in which we live has decided after all its investigations that the only truth that can be found is there is no truth after all. We live in a moral vacuum quickly turning into a moral abyss. How far down do we yet have to descend? That’s a frightening question.
Plato looked out on a similar world. The civilization of his day, which once had been glorious, he saw crumbling before his eyes. Moral relativism, political opportunism and mob rule were destroying it. The great city-state of Athens, the birthplace of democracy, philosophy and science would within a couple of generations fall under a foreign domination it did not escape from for well over two thousand years. My dear Greek friends will have to forgive me for pointing out that its greatest attractions are still its ruins.
Plato knew there was something better. And we know what that is. It’s the same message Paul brought to the Areopagus. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness."
As Christians, we can spend a lot of time taking pot shots at the darkness around us. A far better option is to turn on the lights. We do that by being true followers of Jesus, the man of light.
Jesus said we were like a city on a hill. He was thinking of the bright Judaean sunshine blazing down on all the whitewashed stone houses of Jerusalem. You could almost be blinded by the glare.
The lights have gone out around us and people are living in the shadows, thinking this pale imitation of reality is all there is.
It was too late for Athens, but it’s not too late for us. Not quite.
Time to turn the lights on. If we don’t do it, no one else will.
CONSIDER PARTNERING WITH DAVID & ELAINE CAMPBELL IN HELPING TO SUSTAIN THEIR ACTIVE MINISTRY.
AWAKENING MINISTRIES // FOUNDATION of FAITH Project
Foundation of Faith Project is strengthening generations in faith and bringing beautiful changes to the communities around them. Through teaching, mentoring and coaching, many are finding out who they are and who they are destined to be. They are bringing more to their world. David Campbell is the key leader in this initiative and you can support him financially directly through Awakening Ministries.
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