In the midst of life's craziest moments, do you ever wish you could just wake up and it would all be over?

One of my recurring dreams is that I am trying to get ready for church, the bells are ringing, people are waiting for me, but I just can't get everything ready in time. It gets worse and worse, until I finally just wake myself up. Thankfully it was all a dream!

But real life isn't a dream, is it? The pain you feel when you lose someone isn't a dream. The hardship of an illness or a disease isn't a dream. The struggle with our sin certainly isn't a dream.

But one day we will wake up, and then the darkness will go away forever. God has set a day when he will bring an end to this world as we know it. Jesus will return on that day, he will raise the dead, and all whose names are written in the book of life will be saved.

For those of us who believe, our name IS written in the Book of Life. We believe that Jesus is our savior from sin. We believe that he conquered death and hell for us, and gave us his perfect life as a robe of righteousness. Our sins are forgiven and we have nothing to be afraid of.

Except that now things are still a little dark. And sometimes not just a little dark, a LOT dark. We feel the pressures of society. We feel the pressures of our sins. We feel the darkness of sin in us and around us. This is why the resurrection to life matters. That resurrection is our ticket out of this sin filled world. It is our final rescue from sin and the darkness of sin.

Now the darkness.

Then the light! Come quickly, Lord Jesus. Amen!