DECEMBER 16 THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD By Greg Stier Founder and President, Dare 2 Share Ministries
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. (Isaiah 9:2)
Few symbols express the joy of Christmas better than lights. A simple strand can transform a space from blah to festive, radiating warmth, beauty, happiness. And, in doing so, the lights capture the ultimate meaning of Christmas. About 700 years before the first Christmas, the prophet, Isaiah, described (in chapter 8) a great darkness that had settled over Israel—the darkness that comes from ignoring God’s Word and His ways; a darkness that leads to distress and fearful gloom. But suddenly, in chapter 9, Isaiah’s tone changes. He begins to tell how a light will dawn when a child is born—a child who will bless the land of Galilee (where Jesus spent most of His life) and shine from there to the ends of the earth, bringing peace, joy, and hope.
Christmas celebrates the moment that light dawned—when Jesus came on the scene. The child’s identity was revealed, and the Light of the World (John 8:12) became visible to those who were seeking Him.
The offer to see that Light and the joy it brings still stands today for anyone who believes the Gospel of Jesus. And the Gospel is simply this: God created us to be with Him, but each of us has separated ourselves from Him by choosing our own ways over His. To bring us back to Him, God sent the Light of the World to Earth to live as the perfect human and to suffer in our place the consequence we deserve, which is death. Then three days after Jesus died, God raised Him to life, never to die again. When we trust in Christ, God forgives all our sins, saves us from darkness, and grants us eternal life with Jesus. As a sign of that new life, God fills us with His Spirit, who gives us the desire and strength to walk in God’s ways.
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