The Advent of Light – December 12, 2013

Suggested Reading: John 8:12

When I was a child, I was afraid of the dark. It wasn’t something that impacted me every day, but I remember a few times when I was just terrified.

One of my chores was to take out the trash. Once a week, I would gather the trash from the house, take it to the barrels outside, and then drag the barrels from the side of the house to the curb for collection. I have a tendency to put off chores I don’t like to do, and one day I put off taking out the trash and forgot about it. Just before bedtime, my mother reminded me and I had to go outside, in the dark, to do my job.

I still remember peering outside into the dark night, afraid to step out onto the porch, let alone beyond the feeble glow of the porch light. There seemed to be so much darkness and so little light. I managed to do the chore that night and make it back into the house unscathed, but I still remember running as if my life depended on it, sure that a claw or talon was going to snag me before I could reach the safety of the well-lighted house.

The same work held no terror for me during the day; only at night did it become a frightening proposition. My inability to see in the dark, to not know what was around me, made it scary.

This world is a dark and scary place at times. We do not know what waits for us around the corner of our lives. There are real dangers and reasons to be fearful. There is so much evil in the world and in the hearts of men. If we were alone in this darkness it would be prudent to be afraid.

But, Jesus is the light of the world. His birth was written in the light of the stars. His life, death, and resurrection lit up and forever changed the universe. Since He Himself is radiance and light, even the darkness is as noonday to Him. He knows all things and understands all things. He is for us! He will never leave us or forsake us.

In His light, we see light. His light shines around us and even shines out from within us. While Jesus was here, He was the light of the world, but now Jesus says that WE are the light of the world, we are children of light. We are His brothers and sisters! We get to live in His light and to shine His light into a world that is dark and afraid and so in need of light.

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Questions:

What does it mean for you to live in His light?

How can you shine Jesus’ light into the world today?