By Andrea Guachalla
Winter is starting in my homeland, the highest capital in the world, placed high up in the cold mountains of the Andes. At this latitude there is not really a distinction between seasons. Whereas other cities and countries go from Summer to Fall, and Winter to Spring with distinct changes in temperature and humidity, we only go from “cold” to “very cold”, and “dry” to “very dry”.
It is logical to think then, that every household has heating, but nearly none of them does. Why? A question I’ve been asking myself for forever and have found no answer to. Thus all the conversations at this time of year start with “It’s pretty cold today, huh?” Which is continued by both parties sharing their best tips to endure the cold and windy winter without heating. It doesn’t matter where you are, if at work or at a family reunion or at church, if you have a good tip to keep yourself warm or want to make a complaint about the weather it will be welcomed and relatable.
The thing about winter here though is that, although it can be very cold, we never, ever stop having a blue sky. The rays of sun still come through the window and warm our homes. Daytime doesn’t get as short as it does in nordic countries or Central Europe. Hence my surprise when I got to experience winter in Austria for the first time a couple of years ago.
Winters in Central Europe are so dark you can go on for days (and even weeks) without seeing even the smallest lieu of blue sky or feeling the rays of sun lightly kissing your skin. It is understandable why some scientists have found a plausible linkage between higher suicide rates, mental illnesses and the winter season since the freezing streets, and harsh weather end up forcing you to stay indoors more, and it can lead people to isolate themselves quite easily. The lack of sunlight can also lead to some diseases and deficiencies, which is why people take Vitamin D supplements and do their best to catch any gleam of sunlight they can.
As Dr. Paul Saladino says: “the sunlight reaching our skin feels good for a reason”. It’s because we need it. Without it, our whole planet would go into chaos and death. That is the reason we crave sunlight in winter and what leads me to this story:
A Dark Winter in Vienna
It’s winter in Vienna and I’m walking down the street early in the morning as I head to university. The highest temperature is probably around -5ºC these days, and the sky is packed with gray clouds that have been threatening to drop rain over the city for the past several weeks. The streets are as dark as you can imagine, the wind as cold as you’ve ever felt it (if you come from my side of the equator), and the atmosphere feels still and mysterious. People walk by fast and without looking at the sides, focused on the place they are supposed to arrive in. Nobody wants to be wandering around when it’s so cold outside.
I arrive at the tramcar station, and I stand in line in the freezing cold with a dozen other people who are waiting for the next tram to come. Stations in the city usually have a clock stating the exact time at which the tram or train will arrive, so I know we still have five minutes left.
One thing I can’t stop but notice is that people don’t really talk with one another. I am (once again) reminded of the fact that I am not in my home country where it wouldn’t be that rare to have a casual conversation on the bus with a person you haven’t met before. Either because the unbearable cold drains everyone from the energy to engage in a conversation with a stranger as we stand there, or because people tend to not talk at all with strangers, everyone remains silent. Some people are busy looking at their phones, most just stare blankly at the concrete where the tram is supposed to appear at some point. I belong to the second group until something catches my eye.
I look to the left, and at the end of the line there is a tall woman standing alone, several feet away from everybody. She is wearing a brown hat and a long coat that goes all the way down to the ankle. While the rest of us are all rather close to one another, grumpily (and perhaps unknowingly) keeping each other warm, she is over there… While most of us carry a grave expression in our faces she is… Smiling.
What keeps me staring at her is not the contrast she makes with the whole setting, but the fact that she is holding her head high, facing the sky, eyes closed, hands resting at her sides, and she is, of all things, smiling. All of her complexion radiates peace. A few seconds go by until I realize there is a small gap in between two clouds that are allowing a thin beam of sunshine to reach the ground, and of all places the beam is resting gently in her smiling face, making it shine.
Though I cannot know for sure what she is thinking, I conclude she might be grateful that the sunshine reached her. Because when you are surrounded by darkness the one and only thing that can make you joyful is that: a beam of light.
Our lives are a long, dark winter
Our lives can be no other thing. Moreover, I dare say we live in a perpetuos winter, harsh and cold. For some filled with suffering, poverty and violence and what is worse: a lack of understanding why bad things come to pass. For others life is filled with success, abundance and, perhaps, fame, but even as they live a life with no financial hardships they still go on through life looking for the next thing that will make them truly happy and fulfilled, only to find there is NOTHING that can compensate for their lack of true meaning, identity and joy. They too lack understanding of why success, abundance and fame are for.
It’s like that for every single human being.
We don’t know why we do things, good or bad, and if we do know, it’s often for the wrong reasons. We pretend to be altruistic not knowing we serve and help others only to feel good with ourselves. We celebrate perversion and sin. We find joy in planning the next night out in a club, or in remembering past scenes of drunkenness and promiscuity. Our consciences are numb. We are dead inside.
We try to walk as fast as we can, but we don’t know where we are going. We don’t look to the sides to care for others, because we are too busy indulging ourselves. We do what the world says will make us happy, all the while we carry a grave expression in our faces that communicates the opposite. We succeed, and are recognised, we travel the world and gain more experiences, and all for what? Do any of those things give us meaning?
We live in darkness, surrounded by darkness, and share life with others whose life lacks purpose the same way ours do. We have nothing, and we know nothing. Even if we think we do. We refuse to realize that none of us, nor this world, nor human philosophy can give us the one thing we need: a beam of light.
The Beam of Light
There is only one thing (one person) that can illuminate the meaningless lives we carry on with, and that is Christ: the truth, the way, and the life. The one who can help us understand who God is, who we are in his eyes, and what our everlasting purpose is. Now let me explain why:
- Through knowing Christ is that we get to know the holiness of God the Father: Christ fulfilled God’s law perfectly from loving him above all things, to loving his very enemies, including the fulfillment of the ceremonial laws that are commanded in the Old Testament.
- Through seeing Christ’s life and reading his teachings is that we get to know our own condition: we fail to fulfill God’s commandments and are, therefore, under God’s righteous wrath, deserving of eternal condemnation.
- Through understanding Christ’s sacrifice we get to see God’s love: he sent his only Son to die for us, who were lost in our sins, so he could impute Christ’s righteousness onto us according to his gracious will.
- Through believing in Christ, his deity, life and sacrifice, is that we get to be reconciled with God the Father for ever and ever, and get to live out our one purpose: to glorify God.
- Through Christ we stop living in darkness, and are enabled to live under the light, forever grateful that we get to wake up every morning and serve him according to the wisdom of his written word and the guidance he provides to us through the Holy Spirit.
The same way a beam of sunshine reached that woman on that cold, and dark winter in Vienna, we are reached by the merciful God who decides to reveal to us the precious person of Christ through whom we have salvation, and through whom we get to fulfill our one and only purpose: TO GLORIFY GOD, wherever and whenever.
So, as we enter winter here in Bolivia, let me say this to my friends who don’t care for the fact there is a God: one day you will die. We will all do. And if you don’t believe in Christ, the darkness you are living in will get darker when your life comes to an end. And not only that, but you will live under the eternal wrath of a righteous God against whom you rebelled. Christ is the only light that can save you, so COME TO HIM. Leave your idols and sins, and come to the living waters that can give you joy, meaning, peace and salvation.
And now let me say this last thing to my brothers and sisters in Christ who are burdened and tired, those who are enduring harsh trials: COME TO CHRIST TOO! Seek refuge in him. Yes, Christ is the only light for the lost, but he keeps being the beam of light we should crave when we are going through trials. Come to Christ, because only in him will you find rest. Come to Christ, because only he can make you smile from the heart and shine no matter the circumstances.
