Light

All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. – John 1.3-5

Light is a glorious spectacle. There are plenty of pretty light displays at this time of year. Houses and streets and trees and everything else may be decorated. Light is cheering and pleasant. It pierces the darkness and even the slightest bit of light can change everything. Light makes all the difference in the world making our way through the darkness.

Of course I am going somewhere with this. Physical darkness is bad enough, but there is an much worse thing than physical darkness. Spiritual darkness is so bad because it is eternal and you can’t just flip a switch to get rid of it. It is pervasive and it is so dark that the world doesn’t even know what it stumbles over.

But the wonderful news is that God did something about that darkness. He sent Light into the world. Christmas is about the entry of that Light. The Light shone in the darkness, but the darkness didn’t get it because the world loved it darkness more than the Light.

Nevertheless that Light still shines for those who are looking for guidance in the darkness and for a hope for eternity. Those who come to the Light become reflections of the Light to the world around.

Are we Christians being the light of the world that we are called to be or are we just adding to the darkness by our failure to reflect the Light? We ought to shine as lights all year, but Christmas is a time when we can focus and aim to shine more in the year to come.