Light from light; true light!

Tonight is the shortest day of the year for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere. This is the first day of winter and darkness descends early. On a cold crisp winter night, I like the darkness. The darkness forces us to seek the light. And it's hard to do with all the artificial light we generate these days. And this time of year our yards and porches and roofs are covered in Christmas lights, as is the tree tucked away in a prominent place in our homes. Check out the highways and byways near any shopping center and we see a steady stream of headlights coming and going.

I love living far out in the country, on the edge of the woods. On these cooler winter nights, I like the darkness. Why? Because it forces me to seek the light. If I turn off the outdoor lights, including those adorning the front porch for Christmas, I can glance into a clear winter sky and see bright sparkling lights from stars light years away. If I try hard enough I may even see constellations and planets and other beautiful night lights. On occasion I may even see a shooting star. And last night I arose in the middle of my winter sleep to see the beautiful lunar eclispe.

All of this serves as a reminder to me that in the darkness of this world in which we endure, we must always seek the light; that true light which is Jesus, coming to us this week as a newborn king. His coming to us; to save us, is bringing the light of truth to all. Sometimes to appreciate his light we must turn down the lights that distract us from Him, our busy lives, our routines of hustle and bustle and all of our doing and our noise. Just like I must turn down that artificial light to see the lights of the beautiful sky, we must turn down the artificial lights that blind us from the light of truth.

So as we prepare for the celebration of Christ coming to us at Christmas, turn down the artificial light and focus on light from light, true God from true God. Welcome Jesus into your hearts and lives as the light of your life!