Light

So I had to share a short talk today in church and as part of it shared the following experience and analogy. It all started last weekend when I went to the Phoenix Art Museum with some friends. The have a really cool exhibit there that is basically a darkened room with mirrored walls in which the only light is from very small colored LED lights hanging from the ceiling at all different lengths. The effect of the mirrors and the darkness and the tiny colored lights makes it feel a bit like you're walking into outerspace, or a swarm of fireflies or something.
Anyways, I went into the exhibit with my friend Joe, and the idea is that you walk through the room and out the exit on the other side. It's not a very big room, certainly not big enough to get lost in, but as I went in, I stopped in the middle and slowly turned around to get the full effect of the display. By that time Joe had made it over to the exit, so I turned to follow him, only to take a few steps and run into one of the mirrored walls. Needless to say, I'd somehow managed to disorient myself and then had to follow his laughter in order to find the exit because from the new angle I was at, I could see three reflections of him standing in the dim light at the exit.
It really was quite a funny experience, but as I shared earlier in church, can also be related to a lot of spiritual things. First, light is so important, dim lighting can disorient us, and Satan certainly will use mirrors and pretty colored lights to further the illusion, until eventually, we find ourselves running into the wall. Secondly, Once we do run into the wall, we have an opportunity to stop and take our bearings again, and correct our path (ie. repentance) And lastly, oftentimes, it takes more than just sight to do so. We need to follow the still small voice (or the loud laughing one as the case may be).