Lights & Christmas

The Christmas season is well upon us now. A recent drive around town to view lights caused me again to recognize the firm roots Christmas has in the night. Darkness has many qualities but perhaps its strongest is its ability to accent light. A set of our lights at the house hardly seemed to be working correctly during the afternoon when I mounted them, but at night they were clearly shining well.
The star lit the sky as wisemen traveled by night. A bright host of heaven invaded the night sky around the shepherds. The most dramatic light in the night though was that of a child born king. Luke writes of Him, “The Dayspring from on high hath visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness . . .” (Luke 1:78-79). This is what Christmas is all about. God coming to rescue us from the darkness.
Someone told me recently the terror of being lost in the wilderness and spending a night alone in the woods. If only they could have seen a distant light to follow out of that darkness. If only they could have caught a glimpse of a camp fire of safety. Terrifying as it may sound it dimly compares with the lost condition of men apart from the light Christ offers in Himself. Have you ever come to the light of Christ? He came as a torch of hope to lead us from the darkness.