I was walking in a thick fog one morning last week. I could only see a few yards in front of me for nearly the first two miles. I noticed a couple cars coming toward me well in advance because I saw their lights. I couldn’t see the vehicles themselves until they got close. I could see their lights. One even had a headlight out. Less light but I still saw it. I couldn’t help but think that the darker it is, the better we can see the light.
Light has been on my heart ever since.
I’ve been hearing a lot about the Bethlehem Star or Christmas Star that we’re supposed to be able to see for the first time in 800 years. I guess it’s technically not a star in this case, but on December 21, 2020 it seems that Jupiter and Saturn will align so that they appear as one bright star from our earthly perspective. It’s been 800 years! What a time for that to happen again. There is never a bad time to lean in and look closer at a light that points to Jesus.
I sat quietly in my living room one night over the weekend and looked at the Christmas tree and an angel lantern sitting nearby. The kids were in bed, my husband was asleep on the couch, all the other lights were off except for the tree lights and the lantern. What a peaceful time that was. What kept going through my head as I sat there was the power of the light. I could almost tangibly feel God’s peace settle over me as I gazed at that lantern in the dark.
The car lights, the Star of Bethlehem, the peace of those Christmas lights – they all stand out and offer hope in the darkness. It’s not hard to get caught up in the darkness these days, at least not for me. But that’s when light is at its brightest. When the fog is thickest. On the day when night comes the earliest and stays the longest. When everything else is dark.
Light is the first thing God created after the heavens and the earth. It’s that important. It’s essential to life. There are lots of meanings and uses of the word “light.” One that strikes me the most is arguably the most basic. It’s simply something that makes vision possible.
The Gospel of John offers some explanation. Chapter 1:4-5 (NKJV) says, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” Later in versus 9, “That was the true Light which gives light to every man who comes into the world.” This is referring to Jesus. Jesus is the light.
In John 8:12, after Jesus saves and forgives the woman caught in adultery (Talk about darkness, she was guilty and facing death.) he explains it himself.
“Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness but have the light of life.”
I know from first-hand experience that Christmas can come with its own share of darkness. When you’ve lost loved ones, Christmas is never quite the same. The losses cast a very real shadow on what is repeatedly billed as the most wonderful time of year. Broken-heartedness, sickness, anger, loneliness, fear, uncertainty, exhaustion all throw their own shadows. These can leave us feeling more and more in the dark. More lost. More hopeless. More resigned to despair. Unless we look for the light.
Jesus is the light that eclipses the darkness. Chase the light. Walk in the light and pass it on. Matthew 5:16 tells us to let our light shine before others. Oh, how bright our light can be to others who are lost in the shadows. I have been lifted by the light of others many times. Even if you feel dimmed from a missing headlight, you can still shine enough to push back some darkness. When your light is reflecting the creator and source of light, darkness is overtaken.
Psalm 18:28 says, “For You will light my lamp; The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.”
Friends, the “star” might be two planets aligned just the right way. They may not be literally guiding us to a stable in Bethlehem, but they are still pointing me to Jesus. The light of the world. No matter how foggy the morning, how short the day, how dark the season, or heavy the year, the light of Jesus is always shining.
Will you focus on the light this Christmas? On the gift of Jesus? He chases the darkness away and makes life possible. May we never lose sight of the light.
