One night, Jesus had a conversation with man. And although the conversation contains some of the best known words in all of Scripture, Jesus ended with these.
“This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”
At the cross, Nicodemus faced a decision.
Light or darkness.
Choosing to publicly identify himself with Jesus meant he risked being exposed by man and losing his reputation, his position, and –seeing the bloodlust whipped up that day– maybe even his life.
But his other choice was denying the truth and having his deeds, his practices and his heart exposed by Almighty God.
It was as dark as night that afternoon at the cross. Nicodemus came to Jesus once more. Only this time, he had no questions, no doubts. He brought a gift, an offering, an act of worship.
The cross demands that we make a decision.
We remain in darkness like some many of the spectators. We can mock it, dismiss it, ignore it.
Or we can decide it is a place of worship, and like Nicodemus, be part of an unfathomable act of love and redemption.