Christmas is indeed a season of light.
Candles glow and twinkling lights glimmer from houses, buildings, and trees.
People love all the flickering and shimmering! Some spend weeks decorating their yards and rooftops in spectacles of illumination. If you asked them why, they might be hard-pressed to express more than, “They’re beautiful!”
But perhaps it’s more than just aesthetics. Perhaps it’s a heart-response.
Light is symbolic for:
- Beauty. Light grabs our attention, whether it’s sparkling and dazzling or soft and luminous.
- Safety. Where there is light, we can navigate through our surroundings.
- Comfort. A nightlight offers just that for many a child who is afraid of the dark.
- Hope. Light gleams triumphantly in the darkness at the end of a tunnel.
- Guidance. Light illuminates the way.
Might it be that people respond to light, especially when associated with Christmas, because the human spirit is made to respond to the Light?
Jesus came from the Father who is Light (1 John 1:5), and proclaimed, “I am the Light of the world” (John 8:12).
But that statement is more than symbolic.
God the Son is our safety, because he offers eternal life.
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me.
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish;
no one can snatch them out of my hand.”
John 10:28-29
God the Father is our comfort, because he is loving and compassionate.
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,
who comforts us in all our troubles.”
2 Corinthians 1:3-4a
God the Son is our hope, because of his resurrection. We will be raised from the dead because he was.
“In his great mercy [God] has given us new birth
into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade—
kept in heaven for you.”
1 Peter 1:3b-4
God the Father is beauty, because of all his exquisite attributes. And we have the opportunity to bask in that beauty.
“I’m asking God for one thing…
To live with him in his house my whole life long.
I’ll contemplate his beauty; I’ll study at his feet.”
Psalm 27:4 MSG
God the Father is guidance, characterized by wisdom, compassion, and readiness.
The Light of the world offers us all this and more.
I can’t imagine life without him, can you?
Let’s make time to linger in his Light during this Advent season.
Let’s be watchful for “Glory-moments, awash in his dazzling Light” (Sarah Young).
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How else might we expand our heart-response to Jesus? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!
Photo credits: http://www.pxhere.com; http://www.wikimedia.com; http://www.tOrangebiz; http://www.flickr.com; http://www.dailyverses.net; http://www.canva.com (3).
(Revised and reblogged from December 2, 2013.)
From the Inside Out 