Gift in Darkness
Christmas gave this world a wonderful gift: the light of Jesus. Jesus came into a barn filled with dirt and tucked away from city lights. The barn echoed the spiritual state of the world. A world covered in the dinginess and brokenness of sin. A world left dark and lonely because experiencing the intimacy of being with God Emmanuel wasn’t always present. The barn was dark. It was isolated and broken.
Yet in this darkness of the first Christmas, light emerged.
Moonlight glimmered through the rooftop. It provided just enough light for Joseph and Mary to see and touch our King. Yet it was dim enough to cover up the dirt smeared on their travel weary faces.
A star God placed in the sky long before baby Jesus came to earth shone brightly above the barn. The steadfast light was a reminder of God’s promise. Heaven has never been broken by sin and God will gift it to us. It guided men to come to the King long before the King could walk and come to them.
Most importantly, a baby wiser than His years came into the barn. As night turned to day, His presence lit up the world more than sunshine. He would be the Man who would fix the brokenness of the world once and for all.
GIFT LIVED OUT
Tonight we live out a piece of His gift. As we celebrate the birth of Jesus, our family and friends will have a place to grab a hold of light.
As we light candles. As the dimness grows into a room full of light, our friends feel just how close God and Heaven were that night in the barn and still are in the light of today.
As we sit at tables eating cookies. Our family tastes the overwhelming sweetness a plate full of cookies brings. A sweetness abundantly greater than the bitterness of our sin.
As we sing songs. Our neighbors learn more about the joy we have in our God who is wholly perfect and our Heaven that has never been broken by sin.
As we hold our babies. As we touch their warm skin, our little ones see how easy it is to be held in our hands. One day, they could just as easily be held by our Father too.
As we take pictures. Our loved ones go home with a tangible reminder that the promise of God we celebrate tonight lasts forever.
We are light in a dark world.
In the softness of the last few hours of tonight, take a moment and draw your eyes up.
Unlike the sun, the stars in the sky won’t blind our eyes. They beckon us to come closer and gaze longer. Keep your eyes drawn long enough to remember God promised us Heaven long before Jesus came to earth. As day breaks on Christmas morning, enjoy receiving the greatest gift: Jesus outshining the darkness of sin.
Jesus came into this world in the dimness of night. He eased us into knowing Him as the break of day.
As He makes Himself fully known to the world this Christmas, we will not be blind to His glory. We will abide in it with Him forever as royalty.
This is His gift.
It is bigger than the barn He came into.
It is bigger than the best celebration we can throw.