Philosophers offer their views on profound ethical issues, seek wisdom or enlightenment, and theorize about the meaning of life. The problem is that, like many of us, many of their views were impacted by personal brokenness and despair. Their thoughts originated from dark places in their lives, and from darkness they sought enlightenment. Plato told the story of prisoners chained in a cave, facing a wall. All they could see were shadows cast by objects behind them, and they mistook those shadows for reality. For Plato, the reality we perceive isn’t reality at all, and nothing around us is real. It’s a trap, a prison, a place from which to escape. To discover the light of truth, we must find a way to break the chains and escape from the cave.
I don’t think Plato was all wrong. Our world projects shadows every day: success without purpose, wealth without joy and peace, relationships without depth. We confuse the world’s definition of happiness with God’s definition of lasting joy. We get caught up thinking about the limited years we have in this life and forget about Christ’s promise of eternal life. We create our own chains that keep us in caves of our own making.
How often do we settle for shadows? It’s so easy to stare at the flickering images and imagine that is all there is.
The Gospel of John, however, gives us a greater hope: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:5).
Plato pointed toward an abstract idea of truth beyond the cave. The problem for Plato – and others like him – is that if he escaped from the cave, he would only find more shadows. Why? Because he would always be trapped by the limitations of his own mind and understanding. John speaks, however, of a “Truth” and truth that is greater than us. “Truth” came and entered our world, our cave, in the person of Christ, bringing with him the truth of light. Jesus came to lead all of us into freedom and offers to chase away the shadows.
The shadows don’t define our reality. We are not chained. Christ has broken the bonds. In him, we see clearly. The enlightened life, as Plato longed for, seeks the light but offers no source. Jesus is the source of light and offers us abundant lives by walking with him: the Light of the world.
Prayer: Jesus, Light of the world, I confess that I’m often distracted by shadows—things that look real but cannot satisfy. Turn my eyes toward you, the source of truth and life. Lead me out of the darkness into your marvelous light, and let me walk in the freedom you bring. Amen.
