O LIGHT DIVINE

 

DECEMBER 22, 2023

 

Luke 2:32

He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel!

 

O Holy Night Fall on your knees,

O hear the angel voices!

O night divine,

O night when Christ was born!

 

While reflecting on the birth of Jesus we find much in the details that are messy, chaotic and disordered. I also find myself saying that the night Christ was born could also be considered one of the most perfect nights ever.

Think about the accounts we read each Christmas Eve, the unifying factor is that God used difficult circumstances (travelling on a rough road with a very pregnant wife) and an uncomfortable location (not even a hotel room, but a barn with only a manger to sleep in) to bring His perfect and holy Son into the world. Yes, God could have easily made Jesus’ birth triumphant, but He chose not to.

I find this overwhelming, do you? I mean the way God brought His son into the world reminds me of the way God works in my life, and yours. God works within our lives. God walks with us in all the failures, flaws, and weaknesses of our experiences. Is it not the case, that God often takes the imperfections in our lives and uses them to perfect, improve, and grow us?

Think for a moment of some of the most significant scars you carry. Painful ones. Yet have you not found that God takes the physical and emotional scars we have and transforms them, uses them to grow us into people of strength.

God also wants us to take what we have learned from our imperfections and put them into play to help others who may be struggling with the some of the same things.

Jesus was a light, the Bible teaches us, to reveal God to all the nations, and we are called to reflect that same light into our world.

Here is the teaching for us today. Do not let your imperfections, limitations, or so-called weaknesses hold you back. I really believe it is the enemy, Satan, that magnifies our pains, hurts, that hold us back. You see, God focuses on what we can become. What we can become, cooperating with God’s spirit, is the person that God designed you and me to be. Instead of being focused on our perceived flaws, why not take this approach: Surrender yourself to God and allow God to use your painful experiences to shape you into a follower that becomes light in a dark world.

 

Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,

With glowing hearts by His cradle, we stand.

The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger,

In all our trials born to be our Friend.

He knows our need— to our weakness is no stranger.

Christ is the Lord! O praise His name forever!

His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim!

His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim! AMEN