Jesus said, “I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me
may not remain in darkness” (John 12:46).
Think what this means.
It means, for one thing, that the
world is a dark place. Of course, many
will object: “How can you say we live in
darkness? We have antibiotics, smart
phones, great restaurants, plasma TVs, pizza delivery, Facebook, and Lasik
surgery, not to mention vast stores of knowledge through the world’s great
libraries and online sources.”
But the manifestations of darkness today are widespread and deeply disturbing—like human trafficking, endemic corruption in developing countries, hoarding of wealth by many of the privileged, sectarian violence, global terrorism, greed-driven markets and businesses, exploitation of children, money laundering, treating sex like entertainment, breach of trust through family breakdown, rampant loneliness in crowded urban centers, predatory lending, disloyalty in the workplace, etc., just to name a few. Darkness.
Join me in asking the Lord to help all of us see and celebrate the True Light this Christmas and not be caught up in all the dissatisfying glitter.
Jesus, “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world” (John 1:9). Jesus himself says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).
Christmas, of course, is drenched in light. We think of shining stars and radiant angelic choirs bursting over the night sky. But the brightest light of all shone not on the manger but from it. The classic worship carols pick this up: Baby Jesus is the “everlasting Light” beaming intoBethlehem
And so, let's join the “Herald Angels” in praise this Christmas Day: “Hail, the Sun of Righteousness!”
But the manifestations of darkness today are widespread and deeply disturbing—like human trafficking, endemic corruption in developing countries, hoarding of wealth by many of the privileged, sectarian violence, global terrorism, greed-driven markets and businesses, exploitation of children, money laundering, treating sex like entertainment, breach of trust through family breakdown, rampant loneliness in crowded urban centers, predatory lending, disloyalty in the workplace, etc., just to name a few. Darkness.
Join me in asking the Lord to help all of us see and celebrate the True Light this Christmas and not be caught up in all the dissatisfying glitter.
Jesus, “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world” (John 1:9). Jesus himself says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).
Christmas, of course, is drenched in light. We think of shining stars and radiant angelic choirs bursting over the night sky. But the brightest light of all shone not on the manger but from it. The classic worship carols pick this up: Baby Jesus is the “everlasting Light” beaming into
And so, let's join the “Herald Angels” in praise this Christmas Day: “Hail, the Sun of Righteousness!”
.
No comments:
Post a Comment