Light It Up!

They say confession is good for the soul, so I’m going to begin this devotional by confessing that I’ve had my Christmas lights up since 3 November! As soon as the nights start drawing in, and the dark rainy days begin, I’m ready for Christmas!

Lights have fascinated me since my earliest childhood. In fact, my mother assures me she taught me colours with the Christmas lights. That doesn’t surprise me, as I distinctly remember lying under our Christmas tree looking up through the branches at all the beautiful coloured bulbs. It didn’t seem to enter my head that a needle from one of the branches could have given my eyes more than they bargained for!

As I sit here in a glowing room, I’m reminded that God seems to like light too. His first recorded words in Genesis chapter 1 were: “Let there be light.” (Gen 1: 3.) In his first letter to Timothy, Paul explains that the Lord lives in unapproachable light, “1Tim. 6: 16). And the Psalmist, in Psalm 104, speaks of God covering himself with light as a cloak. (psalm 104: 2.)

Whenever God appeared in the old testament, light was involved. Moses saw him in a burning bush, and the Israelites saw his shining glory in the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night. However, when Jesus walked this earth, he did not visibly glow. His light came from within, in the love he showed and the miracles he performed. Only once did he fully display his glory, on the mount of transfiguration. Yet, after his death and resurrection, when he appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus, the light was so bright that Saul was blinded.

Without stating the obvious, we all know that the opposite of light is darkness, and just as God dwells in light, so our enemy dwells in darkness. WE see a lot of darkness in the world around us, as evidence of the enemy’s deeds and influences. However, we need to remember that the lighting of one small candle will instantly fill a pitch black room with light. Darkness cannot stand in the presence of light. It shrinks away in terror.

Jesus is the light of the world (John 8: 12.) He promises that those who follow him will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. That is an amazing promise for those of us who have accepted him as Saviour and Lord. We need never fear the darkness again. It has no power over us, because we are now children of the light. We will, of course, witness the works of darkness. Sadly, we cannot avoid it, but whenever darkness tries to have its way in our lives, we can plead the blood of Jesus, and trust him to overcome it with his light.

However, just as Jesus is the light of the world, he also tells us to go and be lights in his name. Matthew 5: 14-16 says: “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

I always think of this in terms of the moon and the sun, where Jesus is like the sun, and we are like the moon. The moon has no light of its own; all it can do is reflect the sun. When the sun shines, it fills the whole sky with its light, and chases away all darkness. However, when the moon reflects the sun, we still see the darkness around it, just as we still see the darkness around us in this fallen world. One day, we will live in a place of eternal light when we are with the Lord forever, but for now, we each have a light to shine as we reflect him into the darkness around us.

If I shine my light here, where I am, and you shine your light where you are, we will both be making an impact for Jesus. And the more lights that shine, the less darkness there will be. This is why we need to share the good news, and encourage those we know and love to come out of darkness, and enter the full and glorious light of our Saviour.

So, enjoy your Christmas lights, because you can be sure I’m enjoying mine! Just be sure to take some time to dwell on the one who is and always will be the light of the world.