In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1:4-5 (NIV)
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
Matthew 2:1-2 (NIV)
We're now in the Advent season, and one of things I enjoy about it getting dark earlier is driving home and seeing all of the elaborate Christmas light displays adorning homes and yards along my trip. Brenda decorated our house with lights on the porch, a lit tree with Mr. and Mrs. Santa in the living room window, and lights in several other windows. One of our neighbors filled the whole yard with lit Christmas decorations and even has music playing. It will never cease to amaze me how much time, effort, and expense people will put into setting up these displays for only a few weeks of use. When I think about it, though, it does make sense.
Isn't a display of lights a wonderful way to celebrate the birth of our savior, the Light of the World?
John told us that Jesus was the light of all mankind, and that the darkness has not overcome that light! There are people who physically suffer during these shortest days of the year. Their bodies are extra light-sensitive and their energy level and overall health are not as good when there is less sunlight. We are ALL light sensitive in our souls and can suffer greatly when we allow the darkness to creep in and occupy space where light could and should be.
Think of it like a door with the light on the other side. If the door is shut tight, it is pitch black with no light getting in at all. If we have it cracked open, there is a little sliver of light sneaking in, but not enough to do much good. As we open the door wider, the darkness dissipates and is overcome by the light. That's what our Lord can do in our souls, but we need to make sure we've got the door WIDE OPEN to receive His full blessings and walk in the light he will cast into our lives.
Jesus not only is the light, He uses light to draw others toward Him. In Matthew 2, we are told that the Magi used the light thrown off from the Star of Bethlehem to find the baby Jesus and worship Him. Today, people aren't drawn to Jesus by stars, they are drawn by other people. I'm not talking about preachers here, because seekers generally don't wind up in church to hear them unless they have made contact with someone who sparked their interest in learning more about and getting to know Jesus.
It's about more than inviting someone to church. That is useful, of course, but much more important is how we are living our lives, how we are acting like a mirror reflecting the light of Jesus onto others. Do people see something in our demeanor, our actions, our values that is attractive enough for them to say "I want some of that in my life?" Sometimes they don't know what that "something" is, but when we tell them it's Jesus,when they see it played out in a loving, unselfish way in our lives, their interest can be piqued.
When you're hanging the Christmas lights or enjoying ones someone else has put up this season, I encourage you to remember (1) Jesus is the light and (2) He gave us the light so we can draw others to Him.
I think that pretty wells sums up Christmas, friends.
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