In the midst of the darkness shining,
Jesus light of the world shine upon us,
Set us free by the truth You now bring us,
Shine on me. Shine on me.
Please read Isaiah 60:1-6
Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
One evening, I was driving home at night during a power outage. I was close to home, and I noticed how dark our neighborhood was – no streetlights, no porch lights, no glow from televisions or reading lamps filtering through curtains. It was dark – darker than we normally ever see it. I stopped the car and turned it off, eliminating the light from the headlights and dashboard. At that point, I was IN the dark, not just observing it.
Pretty quickly, I started the car and drove the rest of the way home. The dark can be a dangerous and disconcerting place (if I couldn’t see, perhaps people driving other cars couldn’t see me, either!).
We have just finished celebrating the incarnation of Christ into the world as a human – one of us, and yet God. Our world of darkness was transformed. Pause for just one moment and imagine the difference that has made in our lives. Imagine what life would be like without that light.
Imagine what life is like for those who haven’t yet seen the presence of that light.
We have been so richly and greatly blessed by Christ. Our lives are alight with his love, just like the homes in my neighborhood when the power is working. The windows in those houses can’t hold back the light – it shines forth.
When people look at you, listen to you, come close to you, can they tell that the Power is on? Do your words, thoughts and actions convince other people that Christ’s light is shining in the world, providing God’s light in their darkness?
Do people come to Christ, come to know Christ, because of you and the way his light shines through your life?
Or have you drawn the shades?
Fill this land with the Father's glory
Blaze, Spirit blaze,
Set our hearts on fire
Flow, river flow
Flood the nations with grace and mercy
Send forth Your word
Lord and let there be light.
(Shine, Jesus, Shine, Lyrics by Cliff Richards)
Kim Matthews
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