“Don’t be afraid of the dark.”    

That’s what we tell our young children, even ourselves when night falls and we feel alone, vulnerable, isolated, or plagued by nightmares.

And yet, the truth is that most human beings are far more fearful of the light.

The light –that utterly visible and revealing place in which we cannot hide but stand entirely exposed and unveiled—makes us both warm and wobbly. When we stand too fully in the brightness of light, we allow ourselves to be seen in all of our flaws. We feel ourselves laid bare, unprotected, and a feeling of unease begins to settle upon us. Stand fully in the light? Perhaps to bathe in light for a moment would be glorious. To stand revealed to God and others within it for any period of time?

Most of us would rather not.

We would rather limit the …