Do you like Christmas lights? I do. I love them. They are one of my favorite Christmas decorations. We hang them from our roofline on the outside of our house. We string them on trees and across the mantle inside our house. We make plans to drive around and see the lights OTHER PEOPLE put on their houses. It is all part of this season of celebration.
Why do I like Christmas lights so much?
Maybe it goes back to my childhood when I was scared of the dark . . . maybe I have stock in OG&E . . . or maybe, just maybe, it is because Light is one of the Christmas “decorations” mentioned directly multiple times in Scripture.
Isaiah 9:2 speaks of “a great light” that has dawned, and Isaiah 42:6 talks about a “light for the nations.” Both of these prophecies (given 700 years before Jesus’ birth) were pointing toward the day when a Child would be born that would be the “Light of men” (John 1:4). At the birth of this Child, the sky “shone” above the place where He stayed as angels sang (Luke 2:9). A new star rose in the sky, lighting the way for people of all nations to come and find Him (Matthew 2:2).
Who was this light? Of course, this Light was THE LIGHT . . . Jesus Christ. It is appropriate to celebrate the birth of Jesus by hanging lights, because (from the very beginning) the Christmas story has been about the Light of God shining into the darkness, and the darkness not being able to overtake it.
This is significant, because we live in a world of deep darkness. Just in the past week I have heard about:
- Marriages ending in divorce
- Political corruption
- Suicide and depression
- Financial ruin, homelessness, and hunger
- Wars
- Persecution of Christians
- Disease
- Abuse
It seems all around us are reminders of darkness. In the midst of this dark world, don’t you long for someone to “turn on the light”? What if I told you that Someone has turned on the light . . . in reality SOMEONE IS THE LIGHT!
I have found GREAT COMFORT in Jesus Christ. He alone lights the darkness and provides life in the midst of the valley of the shadow of death.
During the month of December, I invite you to join me at Wildwood Community Church on Sunday mornings at 9:45 and 11:00 as we bask together in the Christmas Light of Jesus. Over the next 4+ weeks we will cover:
- December 1 – “Light to those living in Shadows” – Isaiah 9:1-7, Matthew 4:12-17
- December 8 – “Light of Life . . . a Light Brighter than the Darkness” – John 1:1-14
- December 15 – “Light to the Captives for all Nations” – Isaiah 42:1-9, Luke 2:29-32
- December 22 – “Fear Not! The Light is On” – Luke 2:8-14
- December 24 – “The Star Has Risen” – Matthew 2:1-12
More than anything else, this is a series proclaiming HOPE to all of us who are living in this dark world. We need not fear or despair . . . in fact we can worship and rejoice, because the Light has overcome the darkness.
The Light of Christmas . . . is Christ!
Make plans to join us this Sunday . . . and invite your friends and family to come and sit with you this month as we celebrate this truth together.
NOTE: I have written a 31 day devotional to accompany your Christmas season. You can access that devotional by clicking here, or you can subscribe to this blog and have each daily installment of the devotional delivered to your inbox each morning beginning December 1. The devotional is tied to 31 Christmas songs (and the Scripture behind them) and we have a playlist on Apple Music and Spotify.