Everything was created through him, nothing—not one thing!—came into being without him. What came into existence was Life, and the Life was Light to live by. The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness; the darkness couldn’t put it out. John 1:4-5 Msg
Light is such an important part of Christmas and Hanukah. For the past 7 days our Jewish friends have been celebrating when God kept took one day worth of Temple oil and kept it flowing for 8 days. Life has a way of trying to put out the Light of God whether in the Temple or the Light of Jesus He sent into this world over 2000 years ago. There seems to be no greater time for that than during the Holiday Season. Although for most of us it is a time of joy and happiness, for many the darkness seems overwhelming. Loss over the past year, unmet needs, family problems, broken relationships, etc. Even the natural light seems to be working against us. Every day the daylight gets shorter and shorter until we find ourselves waking up in the dark, eating dinner in the dark and feel like we should be going to bed at 7 PM! Some people are so sensitive to this light deprivation they find themselves going into a depression. The last thing they want to do is celebrate, even though there is no reason other than loss of light for them to feel that way. We find ourselves realizing how important light is. This is even the reason we decorate with Christmas lights! They add light to what seems to be and ever encompassing darkness.
We can’t control the astronomical seasonal changes and make daylight last longer. But we can control how much Light we are exposed to spiritually. Jesus was born into a dark world for many reasons and one of those was to bring the Light of hope to those who felt their lives had become hopeless. He showed them how to be the light in dark circumstances by believing in Him and having faith in His promises. Notice this Light came from within instead of from outside. So great was this Light they received that 1 John 4:4 tells us that greater is the One (Jesus the Light) who lives in us than he that is in the world! That is why our verse today reminds us that nothing can put His Light out. It will always overcome the darkness.
Today why not ask yourself if you have that Light within you. Perhaps you have never asked Jesus to come into your heart and be the Light you so long have searched for. Maybe you have accepted Jesus but have let the things of this life cover His Light and you feel the darkness closing in around you. Or perhaps you’re still basking in His Light, but aren’t sharing it with others who need it. No matter how you answered, He is waiting for you to ask Him to, come and live in your heart, remove the darkness and shine like His Son to help you live the abundant life He came to give you and be a light in the darkness to lead others to Him.
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