Christmas is a season of lights.
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 light. If you asked them why, they might be hard-pressed to express more than, “They’re beautiful, that’s all.”
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 soft and luminous, or sparkling and dazzling. It can also be refracted into a glorious spectrum of colors.
- Safety. Where there is light, we can see our surroundings.
- Comfort. A nightlight offers just that for many a child who is afraid of the dark.
- Hope. Light gleams triumphantly over the darkness, at the end of a tunnel.
- Guidance. Light illuminates the way.
Might it be that people are drawn to the lights of Christmas because the human spirit is drawn to the Light?
Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world (John 8:12). He is Light because God the Father is Light (1 John 1:5).
And the Light of God the Father and God the Son is not merely symbolic.
God the Son is 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 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 hope, because of his resurrection. He was raised from the dead, and we will be also. “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 glorious attributes. “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, The Message).
God the Father is guidance. “He will guide you always” (Isaiah 58:11a).
Christmas lights cast a soft glow; spotlights illuminate large areas. But Jesus said, “I am the Light of the World.” To every person in every corner, he offers his Light.
Let’s make time to linger in his dazzling Light this season!
“Blessed are those…who walk in the light of your presence, O Lord” (Psalm 89:15)!
(photo and art credits: www.onebestwall.com, http://www.moyerlawncare.com, http://www.8thfire.net, http://www.naturewatcher.wordpress.com)
From the Inside Out 