Christmas #2: He is Light

He is Light

The temptation with all these phrases we hear and say concerning God (that we've heard since childhood) is to take them for granted or to assume that we understand the meaning and that it no longer holds any special value to us.  "I've learned that 2+2=4, and now I can move on with my life."  A phrase like "God is love" is not only so common that it becomes white noise for Christians, but it is also an easy phrase for non-Christians to use.  (You don't have to believe in a personal God or in Jesus Christ in order to like the phrase "God is love").  But there is a danger to "tuning out" the basics, or things we "learned" long ago.  The fact about Jesus that we're in danger of forgetting is that Jesus is inexhaustible.  And His attributes must not be taken for granted.  So, with these things in mind, let's look at what we might mean by the phrase "Jesus is Light."

What does light do?  (And even though this candle is a nice, pretty representation of light, let's think more along the lines of the sun).  It obliterates darkness.  It makes things visible.  It provides warmth.  It makes life possible.  Everything that is exposed to the light reflects the light.  Even though we've manufactured imitations of light, only the sun is the provider of pure, all-encompassing light.  And isn't it interesting that as soon as you walk outside, the sunlight reveals things (lint or hair on your clothes, for instance) that your bedroom light failed to reveal?

So we have the physical light of the sun, and then we have what it represents:  Jesus.  Jesus is the one who exposes what's in your heart.  Darkness and confusion cannot survive when exposed to Jesus -- the Logos, the Word, the Wisdom, and the Love of God made visible.  Jesus provides warmth and life to those who bask in Him.  He is solely responsible for making spiritual life possible.  He is so bright that His followers reflect Him when they've been spending time with Him.  In fact, everything that has touched Him continues to bear a residual reflection of Him.  What exactly is reflected? Have you heard that a yellow piece of paper is actually not necessarily yellow, but in fact absorbs every color in the spectrum while REFLECTING yellow?  You might have even heard it said that, in a way of speaking, the piece of paper is every color except yellow.  Well, when we reflect Christ, we reflect all the things that HE is and that WE are not:  love, grace, forgiveness, gentleness, acceptance, humility, honesty, integrity, diligence... and a desire for good that overrides our desires for evil.  It's pretty amazing.  When you put on Christ and let Him shine brightly on your heart, you might actually be surprised at your resultant behaviors and actions.

He is light, so don't expect to be able to see, walk, understand, or survive without Him  :)