Light That Lights Life
March 25, 2023
The Unknown Light
“That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: “ John 1:9-12 KJV
The lights on the trees are synthetic. Though lovely in their appearance, they are temporal and will fade away, burn out, or be immediately extinguished as they or their power source is broken. They are not true lights.
They do not shine universally, but only within the close proximity of those who light them. There are dark places where their ambiance is not known. There are pockets of despair in the world where the lights of Christmas have never been lit.
But the true light shines on every man while in pervasive blindness, there are many who do not and will not see. Hardness of heart and bitterness of spirit obscure the view of those for whom the light is intended.
We live in a land of shadows and distortions where every ray of light is filtered through our prejudicial thinking and blind ambition. We stumble in our assumptions and trip over our own dark thoughts oblivious to the Light that has come into the world and is already shining on us.
Many there are who do not recognize him when confronted by Him, who sing the songs of Christmas, hang the decorations on their trees, gasp at the beauty of the colors of the season, and greet one another with manufactured cheer. Yet they do not see him to whom all the signs and symbols point.
Those who do become the children of God, and playfully unwrap their spiritual gifts around the tree of life.
With which company of celebrants will you number yourself this Christmas?
Incarnation View
“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” - John 1:14 KJV
There is a vision without which, we are blind and lifeless.
It is the vision of one who sees us as we are and envisions our world from the inside out and the outside in.
The Incarnate Lord made His dwelling among us. Literally, He pitched His tent here.
I had read about California all my life, seen it on TV and in the movies, but I only truly experienced it when I moved here many years ago.
But the vision message of this verse is not that God learned to experience our life by becoming flesh, but that He made it possible for us to experience Him and to behold His glory.
We have a new vision of God because of Jesus and can now view the world through His eyes because He dwelt among us as one of us.
So, must we dwell among the people, indwelt by Christ that they may behold His glory as we see then through His eyes.
The Miracle of Incarnation
Again, we read:
“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. “ John 1:14 KJV
As God speaks, flesh is formed, holy flesh, incarnate divinity, whimpering wonder, tiny testimony to His love and presence. It is a miracle. God spoke in this little bundle of flesh and blood as helpless as He was with more profound clarity and unmistakable volume than in all of history. God performed the miracle of Christmas.
One night in Bethlehem, as the light shone in the darkness, the Word, eternal and perfect, became flesh and began to dwell among us.
He began as we begin. He grew as we grow. He struggled as we struggle. He was tempted as we are. He overcame as no man ever has before or since. In all ways, He was like us, yet without sin.
And we saw something in him we have never seen before in any man as we saw it in Him, the glory of God.
It had been reflected off the face of Moses, but it emanated from Jesus the Christ. The people could not look at Moses and live. We live by beholding Jesus.
It was the glory of the unique, only begotten of the Father, the eternal Word of God. It was real glory we saw, real light, and true life. It was glory that is full of grace and glory that is full of truth.
No where else in the drama of the cosmos have grace and truth been so compatible in one event. Truth lands on earth with the piecing weight of uncompromising reality and shouts, “Here I am.” This is it!” Grace creeps into our lives and settles our hearts. It injects truth into our souls without sting or invasion and speaks compassion to our hearts.
Truth may seem harsh, but grace and truth are as welcome as Christmas and are, in fact, what Christmas is all about. This is the miracle of Christmas, in any month of the year. It is that the truthful, loving Word of God has become incarnate in human form and we can see Who God is in all of His glory and live.