light

The Word gave life to everything that was created,
    and his life brought light to everyone.

The light shines in the darkness,
    and the darkness can never extinguish it.

- John 1:4-5

Read: John 1:1-9

Each Christmas Eve, one of the most special moments that I treasure every year happens. While we sing Silent Night, each person is handed a candle, then one candle is lit. The first candle that has been lit is carefully tipped so that the next person can light their candle as well. Each person is given a little bit of the initial flame, until everyone is surrounded by a gentle, warm glow. 

Why is this moment so special to me and to many others around me? In that moment, I truly can feel that Jesus is our light. Nothing else could explain how one moment could be so beautiful. In such a time, when there is so little light, we feel our human need for light. That is the way that God made us. The darkness simply feels wrong to us. Darkness means that we cannot see, and it is difficult to walk. In complete darkness, nothing can live. We are vulnerable without light. In that same way, we need Jesus. 

Unlike Jesus, however, light can go out, leaving us helpless. If there was complete darkness, and then you lit a tiny match, you would likely be worried that it would go out and leave you in darkness again. In John 5, it says, “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.” Ever since Jesus, our light, was brought to Earth, that light can never go out. This message of hope reminds us that we are forever saved. Even when this broken world brings darkness into our lives, Jesus, our light, will never go out.