Have you ever walked a Labyrinth in a church?

It is a way of reflecting, meditating and praying that began in the Middle Ages. Those who could not go on a physical pilgrimage to Jerusalem went on a symbolic pilgrimage to “Jerusalem” by walking through a maze marked on the floor of a cathedral.

When I walked through such a maze, the turning points in the maze were marked by white candles.

Each candle was labeled with a fruit of the Holy Spirit such as love, joy, and peace. (Galatians 5:22-23).

A large white candle In the center of the maze marked the goal of my pilgrimage—the “true light that gives light to everyone.” (John 1:9).

In your life, I hope you are walking the Labyrinth of Light.

If you are, the Holy Spirit will guide you through the maze.

Key turning points in your life will yield the fruit of the Holy Spirit—love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23).

And the fulfillment of your life’s pilgrimage will be the “true light that gives light to everyone.” (John 1:9).

Unfortunately, there is a Labyrinth of Darkness as well as a Labyrinth of Light.

In the Labyrinth of Darkness, key turning points in your life will lead you “into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 22:13).

What else but Darkness can you expect from a life spent seeking the Power of Money, the Power of Religion, and the Power of the Kingdoms of the World?

What else but Darkness can you expect when you despise God? (Matthew 6:24).

What else but Darkness can you expect when you ridicule the fruit of the Holy Spirit such as “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control?” (Galatians 5:22-23; Mark 3:29; Luke 12:10).

What else but Darkness can you expect when your life is full of “sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies and the like?” (Galatians 5:19-21).

What else but Darkness can you expect when your life falls with “a great crash” because you did not put into practice the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount? (Matthew 7:26-27).

How do you escape this Labyrinth of Darkness?

How do you begin walking the Labyrinth of Light?

It is essential that you escape the Labyrinth of Darkness and begin walking the Labyrinth of Light! Why?

God knows each person’s heart. (1 Samuel 16:7; 1 Kings 8:39; Jeremiah 17:10; Romans 14:4). “He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart.” (1 Corinthians 4:5).

“Each of us will give an account of ourselves to God” (Romans 14:12). “For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat” (Romans 14:10).

After an “earthquake” that shook his prison and his life, the jailer in Philippi asked Paul and Silas how to escape his Labyrinth of Darkness. “They replied, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.’” (Acts 16:30-31).

To show that he had decided to follow the Way of Jesus, the jailer did for Paul and Silas what he would want them to do for him. (Matthew 7:12). He “washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized.” (Acts 16:33).

Years later, in a letter “[t]o all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people” (Romans 1:7), Paul explained the truths symbolized by baptism.

By choosing to be baptized, we publicly proclaim our willingness to share in the sufferings, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus (Romans 6:2-8; Galatians 5:24-25; 2 Corinthians 1:3-7).

By going fully under the water to be baptized, we symbolically confirm our decision to suffer and die with Jesus, crucifying our former way of living. By rising from the water, God symbolically resurrects our life so that we may have eternal life—a life that we enjoy in this life and in the life to come. (John 10:10; Romans 6:2-8).

By crucifying the Labyrinth of Darkness, we will truly enjoy our life now and in the life to come!

By crucifying the Labyrinth of Darkness, we will follow the Way of Jesus along the Labyrinth of Light!

READ MORE

To learn more about the Labyrinth of Light, please read my blog “The Labyrinth of Light”.

To learn more about the earthquake at Philippi, please read my blogs “Places of Worship—Praying and Singing Hymns in ‘Prisons’” and “Places of Worship—Earthquakes”, and the chapter “Paul and Silas Sing Hymns in the Prison in Philippi” in my book Lighting the World, at pages 97-100.

To learn how we light the world, “‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty” (Matthew 5:14,16; Zechariah 4:6), please read my book Lighting the World.