Winter has officially arrived here in the Northern Hemisphere. The optimists among us are rejoicing that now, with the winter solstice in the rear view mirror, the days will begin to lengthen as the planet tilts toward the sun. Even so, I’m grateful for my window candles and Christmas tree lights—and for whatever ecclesiastical negotiations scheduled Advent and Christmas during the darkest time of the year.
We light the darkness, because, in our heart of hearts, we long for the True Light.
Light was a favorite metaphor for Jesus’s best friend, John, when he picked up his pen to leave us a written record of Jesus’s life:
The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.” (John 1:9)
Living under the boot of Roman oppression, John would have embraced and endorsed Isaiah’s prophetic word:
The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shone.”
John witnessed firsthand the reality of light breaking into darkness. He was in the room when Jesus declared to his most ardent critics, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
At Christmas time, we light the darkness because, in our heart of hearts, we long for the True Light.
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We need the same reminder this year—and every year. In cold December, we don’t just “Need a Little Christmas.” We need a LOT of Christmas! We need the Light of the World when the world has yielded 365 days of conflict and rancor, ugliness and death, injustice and loud voices.
Jesus is not an escape hatch from reality, not for the early apostles and not for us today. We are not offered immunity from all the world’s ills. What we are offered has to do with another world altogether.
So, in a December world, we walk in the light wherever we can find it. And John encourages us that when we do “walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7)
As we come to the final day of Advent, all the candles we have lit by faith are ablaze. Hope, peace, joy, and love have come to us in the days of anticipation. We stand with one foot in the gift of a great salvation and the other foot firmly planted in longing for deliverance from the darkness once and for all.
We welcome the Christmastide with thanksgiving, because “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:5) We will not allow the not-yet-given to slay our celebration of what has been given:
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
(Isaiah 9:6)
As we come to the final day of Advent, all the candles we have lit by faith are ablaze. We stand with one foot in the gift of a great salvation and the other firmly planted in longing for deliverance from the darkness once and for all.
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Holding You in the Light,
Advent Series 2025
Everyone whose life was touched by the True Light had a different experience. And everyone was changed by it in some way. Over the next few weeks leading up to Christmas, I have been thinking and writing about some of those people and how the arrival of the True Light makes a difference for us in 2025. HERE’S THE LINK to the introductory post in case you missed it. Then we considered how the light arrived in Mary’s life, the shepherds‘, Simeon’s, and Anna‘s. Finally, we affirmed that he wants to show up with Light in your world, too.
Looking for a Devotional Plan for Your Advent Season?
This four-part series for Advent features Isaiah’s prophecy of a coming Messiah. Together, we remember that Jesus is the Wonderful Counselor with Supernatural Wisdom. He is our Mighty God, unlimited in His Ability to do what He wills. He is the compassionate Everlasting Father, the Giver of good gifts, and Jesus is the Fountain of deep well-being, our Prince of Peace. CLICK HERE to begin reading.
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Living Our Days 