Arise, Shine!

 

“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you.”

—Isaiah 60:1

What would Christmas be like without lights? We string the lights on our eaves, in our wreaths and garlands, and of course, on our trees. They brighten the night at this most gloomy time of the year.

Light as a metaphor shows up throughout Scripture. In fact, the first words God spoke in Genesis 1:2 were, “Let there be light!”

When God led the Israelites in their escape from Egypt and through forty years in the wilderness to the Promised Land, He directed their way by means of light. As it states in Exodus 13:21:

“By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.”

And where do we get the idea of lighting the night at Christmas? From Jesus Himself, and His birth. Luke 2:9 records how the angels filled the sky with light to announce His coming to the Shepherds.

Years later, when Jesus began His earthly ministry, He proclaimed in John 8:12:

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

But to what does this figure of speech refer? “Light” refers to revelation.

When Jesus came to earth—and when He comes to us today—He reveals Himself to be the representation of God on earth. When we look at Him, we see the character of God, and hear His will revealed through the words of Jesus. We also see for the first time our utter sinfulness and need for a Savior.

A more astounding miracle happens when we open our lives to acknowledge the presence of Christ’s light and bend our wills to accept His revealed will. When we acknowledge His gift of forgiveness through the sacrifice He made in His death on the cross, He makes us “lights” in this dark world as well—as if we were a string of lights around the world.

In Matthew 5:14-16, Jesus said:

“You are the light of the world. A city 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 men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

Jesus came into this world in a very “dark” time in history. In the darkness of our own sinful culture, He wants to walk into this culture through your life. He wants to show His light to others.

Enjoy the Christmas lights of this season, and let them remind you that, in the darkness of our current age, Jesus continues to shed His marvelous light.

Glory to God!