Day 21

As a little girl, I have many memories of driving around the town with my family hunting for a house covered with Christmas lights! We would look for the illumination glowing in the the distance and then do our best to navigate through the neighborhood to pinpoint the lit house. We would usually take the scenic route as we searched, but sure enough we would find the house responsible for the Christmas ambiance. As soon as we saw the the lights, we would slow the car down and all gawk out the window in adoration. What a beautiful sight! Do you have any special memories of looking at Christmas lights?

Today, I want us to read a few scriptures to possibly notice a parallel to this Christmas tradition of hanging lights from our home. In Matthew 4:12-17, Isaiah 9:1-3, and Matthew 5:14-16 we see three passages all talking about light! But not just any light, it's referring to the light of Jesus! In the latter verse, we see Jesus speaking about how we handle light. We don't hide it, we place it where it will give light to everyone.

I'm reminded of a time growing up when our power went out.... for two weeks!! There was a terrible snow storm where we lived in the mountains, that caused many trees and power lines to fall. We moved all our refrigerated food outside into the three feet of snow on our back deck. We pulled out all the blankets and lit an old fashioned oil lantern at night. We would all be huddled around the table together and set the lantern in the middle of the table so we could all see. I'm sure you would agree it would be foolish for us to have a lantern and not use it, or light the lantern and then put it in an unoccupied room.

However, as Christians, I feel we can slip into a place of darkness, not because we don't have access to the light, but because we are not taking full advantage of it's resources. The light that is within us can often be hidden under stress, shame, our past, unforgiveness, and the list goes on. We can never dim the light within us, but in our humanity, we can conceal it's beauty.

From the beginning of this advent, our goal was to be a light this Christmas season and let it shine! Let is shine, let is shine.... This little light of mine... I'm gonna let it shine.... Oh sorry, I got caught in song! You too, huh? Over these last few weeks, you have been positioning the light within yourself where it can be seen! Your project for the day it to scope out some Christmas lights and enjoy their beauty. People all over our nation have hung lights outside their homes, for the world to see a symbol of the light of Jesus.

My prayer as we come nearer to Christmas and concluding this advent, is that the light you carry will continue to shine brighter and brighter each day. That throughout the coming year, you will be reminded of the power and beauty that lives within you!