There are endless metaphors about God. One of the metaphors that is very popular in the Bible is God is light. It is worth remembering that this is a metaphor. Which means, like all metaphors, there is a point that the metaphor breaks down.

For instance, when we think that God is light (as opposed to God as light) then there is a fear of the dark. There is an embracing of all things light. We talk about that God is found in the light places of the world. God is found in the happy and the bright and sunny places. And, on the inverse, God is not found in the dark and the dark is to be feared and avoided.

Again, it is worth noting that God is not light. God it like light.

It is also worth noting that, in the same spirit, God is like darkness. There is no place that one can be where God is not (Psalm 139).

It is my prayer that our spirituality of the dark will become as developed as our spirituality of the light.

How do we develop our spirituality of the dark? There are others in the faith that are much more qualified to speak to this matter (Taylor, John of the Cross, Rohr, etc.) however there is one quick note about developing a spirituality of the dark - In order to see what our shadow sides have to teach us, we have to turn away from the light.

I know this may feel like heresy. I get it. We are very convinced that God is light. But again, God is not light, God is like light. And, God is like darkness.