Light of the world
I love living in New England. I love the history, the ocean, the people. But there’s one thing that I just do not like. I hate that in the winter the sun goes down so early and the days are so short. I find myself really looking forward to the Winter Solstice. It may be the shortest day, but I know from that day forward each day will get a bit longer and include a little more daylight. It’s a bit easier to face the shorter days, when I know we are one step closer to spring and sunshine.
I think my feelings toward winter days can apply to our journey toward Christmas as well. We all are walking in a bit of our own darkness. We may be riddled with doubts, facing insurmountable challenges, or grieving a great loss. Or perhaps life just seems dull and gray. You are going through the motions of everyday life, but not walking with hope or joy. I know there have been many times in my life where I’ve felt like that.
No matter if you are in the midst of a great crisis or operating in cruise control, I hope you can take time this month to revel in the fact that the Light is coming. I will never fully understand how the Son was fully God and fully human. It makes my brain hurt to think through all of the implications of that. But I don’t have to completely understand it, to see the beauty and hope in it. In the Gospel of John, John tells us: “In Him (Jesus) was life, and that life was the light of men. That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it”(John 1:4-5). Later on in John 8, Jesus Himself tells us that He is the “Light of the world”. The same Son that helped to create day and night and that led the Israelites in a pillar of fire, came to be the ‘Light of the World’ for you. We may still see the darkness around us, but with Christ we can walk in the light. If you have Christ, there’s always hope.
“We may still see the darkness around us, but with Christ we can walk in the light. If you have Christ, there’s always hope.“
As we celebrate Christmas, we celebrate so much more than the birth of a baby. We praise Him for humbling Himself to live and die as a man for us. We praise Him for His sacrifice on the cross and His victory in resurrection. But we also live with the expectation of His second coming. The same Light that’s been there from the beginning will be there in the end, but it will be even better. We’ll have a new Heaven and a new earth. There will be no more night, only us living in the light of His glory. “Night will be no more; people will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, because the Lord God will give them light, and they will reign forever and ever” (Revelation 22:5). How amazing is that?
Friend, if you are overwhelmed by your circumstances and you are struggling to see the light, rest in the promises of God. The promises that we find in His Word give us perspective on our present reality and give us hope for our future. The days may feel short and dark, but the Light is coming.
Melissa Busby leads the ministry wives support network for the BCNE and serves in the women’s, youth, and children’s ministries at South Shore Baptist Church in Hingham, MA, where her husband serves as senior pastor.
