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Light

  • December 13, 2024
  • Posted by: Carolyn Mahal
  • Category: Devotions
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I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. – John 12:46.

Happy December in the Northern Hemisphere!

I’m going to bet that you have never been greeted with those words before. I am confident in this fact because not too many people are excited about the living conditions here this time of year. Why is this? Just take a look out your nearest window. If you too are in the Northern Hemisphere as you read this, chances are it’s dark outside, and if it’s not, it was dark just a little while ago, or it will be soon. Winter’s shorter days are frustrating, even to people who otherwise like the cold and snow of the season.

Here are a few numbers to confirm this.

On December 21, Miami will have about 10 ½ hours of daylight, Minneapolis will have about 9 hours of daylight, and Anchorage, Alaska will enjoy daylight for about 5 ½ hours. Or to take it to the extreme, the northernmost community in the United States, Utqiagvik, Alaska, (formerly called Barrow), has been experiencing 24 hour a day darkness since November 18 and will continue to do so until January 23.

Long story short, people don’t like the dark. Darkness often comes with a negative connotation. People fear the dark and the bad things that often happen under the cover of darkness. When a person is struggling with a medical issue, we often feel relief once they have made it through the night. We commonly describe periods of our life when we are sad or depressed as being times of darkness. Plus, it’s just a lot easier to hurt yourself when you try to move around in the dark. It’s odd, but you could be sitting comfortably in a safe, familiar place, but if that room were suddenly cast into total darkness, your comfort levels would fall dramatically. We don’t merely prefer the light. We need it.

When we find ourselves in a dark place, our eyes adjust to allow more light in. If the doors or windows in a dark room have even the slightest opening, light will pour in and illuminate as much as possible. Even a tiny light source will chase away fear and doubt, leaving us with a feeling of safety and renewed confidence in our surroundings.

Our world can be a very dark place, spiritually speaking. Sin has blocked out the sun and cut us off from the light of our Heavenly Father. We are powerless to change this, and despite mankind’s best efforts to provide illumination apart from God’s plan, our ever-present darkness remains. Only God Himself was able to restore the light to our dark world, and He did so by bringing to us His Son. Jesus’s words in John 12:46 explain it clearly. “I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.” Jesus is our light. In Him, the darkness is gone. Every shadow, every low and desolate place is filled with a brightness that eliminates sin and the damage it causes. It restores our souls and returns us to a right relationship with God. This power comes from God alone, and it far exceeds anything our world can do to it. Even when Jesus was turned over to sin, as darkness fell upon the earth as He hung on the cross and was placed in the tomb, the light was never extinguished, and on that Easter morning, the stone was rolled away and the light shone bright upon all of creation.

This Christmas, may God brighten your holiday with the Light of the World. May you feel the joy that comes from the love of a Savior, born in a manger, come to earth to light our path back to the open arms of our loving Father.

 

Devotion by Richard Schumacher

Senior Director of Operations