It was for love that the Light came.
Are you in the middle of it? Do you feel the darkness all around, perhaps a bit like a thick blanket that makes each day feel a bit weighed down in your soul? Here are just a few of the burdens I’ve heard about or experienced recently:
* sick and dying loved ones
* relocated friends
* split-up families
* disrespectful children
* addiction-ruined lives
* broken-down cars
* saddened hearts
There is darkness right now. If not for you, then for someone close to you.
This is what makes Advent so full of marvel and wonder. In this season leading up to Christmas, we understand the darkness. The days get dark, our hearts can feel a bit dark, and the world around us continues to press its darkness on our souls. So we light candles in our homes and we put colorful lights on our roofs and we put giant lit-up, blow-up Santas in our front lawns. But none of our actions really solve the deep problem of this dark world.
God knew we needed a cure for our darkness. That is why he sent Jesus.
The long-ago prophet Isaiah said it like this:
“The people who walk in darkness will see a great light.
For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.” (Isaiah 9:2)
A writer, a contemporary of Jesus, said it this way:
“[Jesus’] life brought light to everyone.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.” (John 1:4-5)
God could have left us in our darkness, but he chose to come and be God-With-Us…Emmanuel. He chose to bring his light to our dark places, his healing to our hurt. Why would he do such a thing? An old song says it like this:
“Love caused your incarnation;
Love brought you down to me […]
Oh, love beyond all telling,
that led you to embrace
in love, all love excelling,
our lost and fallen race.”
So when you see a lit candle or flickering strings of lights, or even a giant Santa, this week, notice the way that its light dispels the darkness around it. And prepare your heart for Christmas with this simple prayer: “Jesus, bring your light to my darkness, too.”
This is how we get ready for Jesus at Christmas-time. We recognize the darkness within our own lives and in the world around us, and we wait in eager anticipation for the love and light that he brings.
