The Theme of Light

Christmas stars, candle lights, serial lights and many other decorative lights are a feast to the eyes during Christmas season. We grow up seeing them every Christmas. They have become part of our lives every year end. Without them Christmas may not be so bright for us.

So what makes them special? In fact, what makes them so special that we cannot imagine a Christmas without them? Is it the variety they provide? Is it the color they add to the festivity? Or is it that they remind us of the “light that came into the world” in the person of Jesus Christ?

If it does remind us of Him, we need to better appreciate the light of His presence in our lives. That is best possible once we have experienced darkness.

It could be physical darkness. We grope through it. Sometimes we stumble and fall. All due to the absence of light.

It could be spiritual darkness when all joy runs out. Then no comfort is found in the company of friends or loved ones.

It could be short and momentary. Or at times it could stretch over months and years.

But one thing runs through it all. The intensity and severity of darkness and the utter helplessness and suffocation we feel during its covering us like a dark unfeeling blanket.

It is then that we really long for light. For light brings hope. It brings cheer. It brings joy and a spring in every step. For light lights a way in the dark. We see ahead. Just enough to take those few steps at a time. And we walk, led by the light.

Thus the shining light is a reminder in our lives that there is hope when light shines. It shone out when the star appeared for the wise men. It shone around the shepherds when the angel announced the birth of Jesus and when the angels sang for joy.

Yes, the first Christmas was surrounded by light because it proclaimed the essential nature of God: “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5b NIV). Jesus came into this world as the light of the world. When He came, the darkness of the world could not appreciate Him who is light.

Are we in a position to appreciate this “Light” who came for our sakes? If not, the darkness is not outside our hearts, but inside. It can be driven away only if we allow this true light to shine in our hearts.

This Christmas, let us deeply appreciate the truth that this light came to our dark world giving us hope. And let this Christmas be all the more brighter for the light that shines in our hearts.

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