9th day -- Jesus on the Dark Side

I went to a Tupperware party tonight at a church a few blocks away here in Colorado Springs. I can't even tell you the name or denomination. But it sits half a block south of a busy street, so I have never noticed it before.

The most prominent feature of the structure is the bell tower positioned over the main entry which we entered when we arrived. Spot lights drew my eyes upward, and I knew the instant I saw it that I wanted to take a picture of it for my blog tonight. But when we departed from the church, we went out a door a little more to the west of the bell tower, and we were on the dark side of the structure. No special lighting was focused to illuminate the back side, but I realized that this was the more dramatic view. When I got home, I grabbed my camera and headed back to the now-empty church.

If you have scrolled down to see both pictures by now, then you already know what I am about to point out to you. It's amazing what the eyes do not see until a photograph reveals it to them. On the lighted side of the bell tower, the great bells seem to proudly show their golden color. However, the artificial light which is focused on the bells obscures the most important feature which the bells themselves are intended to proclaim. The flash from my camera did not even penetrate upward through the spotlights on the ground whose glare fell short of what should have been their true aim.

But on the dark side of the tower, the important element is predominant! Jesus is on the dark side! How true to life this is! Jesus can be lost amidst lights and clamor to which we pay our attention. We focus on the wrong things. But when we are in the dark, Jesus reveals himself in true perspective. He is there all along, waiting for us to notice Him. (If you double click on the first photo and hold your computer screen just right, you can see the cross.)

It is scary being on the dark side -- I was even wary of going on that side to do the photographs at first. I liked the security of the bright lights on the east side. But once I looked up and clearly saw the cross, I was immediately relaxed. When I aimed my flash upward toward the cross which I knew stood in the dark, it was there, clearly illuminated by my small searching light, standing in strong contrast to the cloudy night and dominating the bells which hang in mute submission.

I had not been overly excited to attend yet another Tupperware party. I've been to dozens over the years, and this was my second one in two weeks. I will probably find myself sitting at a few dozen more in the years ahead. And I'll bet that each one will remind me of this very special Tupperware party at the church where I saw Jesus on the dark side.