A Christmas Post: Light in the Darkness

Everything was beautiful. Before sin. Before mankind decided to break the perfect unity between God and man.

And then everything was dark. There was no light. There was no joy. There was no peace.

But God loved man so much, even though they sinned and willingly broke his heart, that He provided a Way. For generations, He told those that sought Him of the redemption to come...of the single candle that would brighten the darkness.

And then He came. He wasn't anyone special in the world's eye. He was a baby, swaddled in a manger, cooed to sleep by the sound of nearby sheep and His mother's singing. He was a boy that was very misunderstood by those He grew up with and sometimes by His own parents. He was a man with insight and understanding but not accepted in His own town for Who He was.

He was the Savior. He was the Redeemer. He was the Son of God.

And as He began His ministry, He awed people with telling them of secrets and wonderful ideas they had never considered. He preached and healed and comforted. He wasn't the handsome and fearsome leader that people expected, but He was like nothing they ever dreamed.

He was the long awaited Messiah. And when He died on the cross, He paid the blood sacrifice that we needed to cover our sin. Because our sin meant death--not only physical death but an eternal death that separated us from God. He was perfect. And somehow, to restore the relationship, we would have to be perfect too. But the only way to do that was if Someone that was perfect took our place--took the death that was meant to be our own. And so He did. He was the final Spotless Lamb. No longer would people need to sacrifice animals to cover their sin. Because His blood did it all. And His resurrection from the dead sealed the deal. Otherwise, sin would have won. Death would have had the final say.

But Jesus didn't stay in the grave. He rose. And His resurrection gave us all new life. It made everything bright again. If we would only accept it...what He did for us...and live with Him as our Lord. We could have abundant life. We would no longer need to live in darkness.

And someday, some glorious day, everything would be made beautiful once more. And there would be no more sin. And no more darkness. We would live everlasting in perfect unity with our Creator.

And that is what Christmas means. That is what we celebrate. For why would we celebrate anything else? But our Savior? For all glory and honor goes to Him. All praise. All hope. All prayers. Forever and ever.


His Answer, Ever Steady

Jesus, the only one who makes cheery
A world, though sparkling and glist’ning with lights
A troublesome place, perfectly dreary
A mirage, only He can put to rights

He, Lord and Savior, blessed us already
A gift, He gave to make us shine as bright
As that sight, His answer ever steady
In a sky, the white trav’ling star alight

Giving promise, granting hope, beautif’ly
Making right, a new dawn in deepest night
And now evergreen, life eternally
At Christmas, at home resides so we might

Love Him, the babe Jesus, whose throne heav’nly
His flight waits, ‘til come His day divinely