A few years ago, I visited my native country, Ghana in West Africa. As we were about to lie down for the night, our electricity was taken away. We had to deal with the heat and the darkness all throughout the night. In fact, this wasn't a one-time incident. For my two-months stay, I had to deal with the electricity issue known as load shedding. It was quite uncomfortable and the darkness at night was quite significant. Homes with stand-by generators soon had light while others remained in darkness. A significant part of this electricity load shedding was when power was suddenly restored in the midst of the darkness, the whole atmosphere changed. Darkness itself is not a desirable state. So many vile things happen in darkness. In the scripture darkness also signify sin and evil. The need for light is not just physically relevant but people in spiritual darkness are blinded and in need of light.
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. (Isaiah 9:2)
One of the distinctive features of Christmas as celebrated across the world is the light and the reflection of different lights that brighten the dull and dark winter evenings. The discussion on whether Jesus was born on December 25 or not is the goal of this post. As the world celebrates Christmas, people approach the holiday season with different expectations. For some, it is a period to buy new stuff and to make their homes look colourful and bright. For others, it is the time to take the most anticipated break at work while focusing on storing enough food for the holidays. Yet, for others, it is a moment of reflection as they consider the birth of Jesus Christ and the essence of His coming. For the latter group, Christmas is about Christ and they make adequate preparations to ensure that the celebration focuses on Christ and not the world.
Imagine winter without Christmas, it would be one long dark season. The celebration of the birth of Jesus does not only radiate light, Jesus Himself is the light of the world. In one of Isaiah's Messianic prophecies, he mentioned that “the people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.” (Isaiah 9:2). Deep darkness is a reflection of our imperfections brought by sin, evil and wickedness. The fallen world was in a very dark place. The disobedience of humanity was a deep darkness that hovered all over the world. Throughout Genesis until Malachi, we encounter people working their way towards God with acts of service and sacrifices. Yet, the darkness loomed and God was still separated from man. As Isaiah gave these prophetic words 100s of years before Jesus was born, Isaiah saw a period where humanity's sins were forgiven because of the great light that hovered on those living in great darkness.
Unlike the sporadic electricity in Ghana, this great light is permanent and it shines brighter and brighter each day to all those who open their hearts to receive this light. It does not shine in the house of the rich and leave the poor. In fact, it shines to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God (John 1:12). Men, women and children of light, people who no longer live in darkness but reflect the light of their Saviour. As we hang our colourful chandeliers, our brightly lit Christmas lighting, let us remember that the light of the world is Jesus and He invites everyone to come and experience this eternal light. He is not bright and shiny only on Christmas. His light shines each day, 24/7, all week, all month, all year and forever and evermore.
What are you representing this Christmas? The Christmas lights or the Light of the world? As followers of Jesus, we are the light of the world. According to Jesus, a town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house (Matthew 5:14-15). So what do we do? We need to let our light shine before others, that they may see our good deeds and glorify our Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16).
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