There’s something really magical about the Christmas season. The lights glimmering, the stillness in the air, the anticipation. But for some reason after December 25th everything goes dim; People start turning off their holiday lights, the cheeriness goes away and we’re all left with the aftermath of overspending, overeating and overextending.
The other day as i’m driving home from work after having a pretty tiring day, I turn onto the road to my subdivision and I look out over the field and see one lonely house that still had their lights and it’s February. As I marvel at their lights (let’s be honest, I’m a kid when it comes to the christmas lights no matter what time of year it is) God starts flooding my mind with how their lone christmas lights should be an illustration of how we are supposed to live as Christians.
We should stand out in the dark.
Most of the year I never notice this house. It blends in with all the other houses around it. There’s nothing special about it and honestly I can only see the back part of the house. But that day as i’m driving by, the lights glimmered and brought my attention to it. I couldn’t see anything else. As Christians, that’s the way we are supposed to live. That light inside of us should make us look different. We should stand out in this dark world. We should bring hope and spark joy inside of someone else’s soul. Our number 1 mission on this earth is bring people to Christ. Like a moth to a flame we should be the hope to non-believers.
for the light makes everything visible. This is why it is said, “Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light.” – Ephesians 5:14 NLT
Bring Joy in Dark Times
I can understand why most people go through seasonal depression this time of year. Once the music stops and the lights fade, what are we left with? Dark, cold nights with very short hours of sunlight in our day. We’re left sitting in darkness waiting for the warmth and sunlight to reappear. Light brings so much more than just a source to illuminate the space. I did some research to see what benefits that sunlight has to our bodies and I found that it provides so much more to our life than just bringing us daylight. It also:
- improves our sleep
- reduces stress
- maintains strong bones
- strengthens your immune system
- fights off depression
- can give you a longer life
If we know the benefits of something, wouldn’t we want others to know? If we spend time with the “Son”, He can do these things for us. Without physical light, He can be the light source that will bring us the joy we need to spread light through the darkness. When we spend time with Jesus and read His word, we are adding fuel for His light to burn brighter in us. We can then use that fuel to fight off the worry and anxiety that could lead to depression so we can live in joy. His word is fueling our bodies so we have the strength to not only fight the battles ahead of us but to also come alongside those who may not have a light source and be the light for them.
There are several light-loving plants on this earth that die after merely 4-10 days without having any contact with the sun. When I read this, it reminded me of how quickly a light that starts in new christians can fade quickly without fuel. They haven’t retained enough fuel to sustain themselves for long periods of time. So while they are gaining fuel, God is calling us to share our light and resources that he’s given us to guide them and help them fill up their reserve.
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light – Ephesians 5:8 NIV
Let’s be like my neighbor and and keep our lights on in this dark world. Shine bright in the darkness!
