Without a Savior’s light, the world remains a dark and deceitful place
By Dean Collins
We needn’t look very far to see wickedness. It is a sad reality near us every day. It shouldn’t surprise us, yet it does when we see children trafficked, abandoned, or abused. We become numb to the senseless murders in the news. We are used to seeing countries, even our own, ignore the needs of the poor. We are taken back when we read of someone in another country being tortured or executed for their faith; but it happens, and we turn our attention to the stock market, the entertainment news, and the latest sports scores.
Evil
The psalmist described the normalcy of transgressions and evil in the first four verses of Psalm 36. And he reminds us that evil people make a habit of deceitful behaviors because it serves their egos and the outcomes they want. And before we judge those evildoers, consider they were us before we met Jesus. And their potential for evil is no worse than ours as well.
But then we read of God’s steadfast love. Love that spoke physical light into the world at creation and sent light to our darkness with the gift of a Savior born one holy night. The psalmist said God’s love extends to the heavens, and John explained in John 1 that the source of light from the beginning was also life. From the heavens came the gift of life and light. John says the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. We celebrate a Savior who destroys darkness forever.
David calls all of creation to take refuge in the wings of this Savior born in Bethlehem. We have access to feast on the abundance he provided and drink from the river filled with nourishment and even delight. Daily we enjoy this refuge and refreshment from above, but it isn’t to be hoarded. We are to become vessels that pour out grace near and far.
Opportunity
John told us that this light from heaven came and lived among us so that we could understand God and his love. He shined his light so that we could see our sin and repent, allowing his light and life to fill us with the same love he displays for all of creation. From his fullness we have received grace and more grace. Grace stacked in our favor so that it never runs out. With so much love and so much grace comes so much opportunity.
Our opportunity and even our kingdom responsibility is to reveal the love of Christ to those stuck in the darkness. Just as Jesus came to earth from Heaven and spreads his wings of love, we become the ones called to spread our arms wide to those in need. We can’t turn our heads from the brokenness in the world. We must dwell with the sinners until they receive grace and until we see our Savior in glory when he returns or when we return to our eternal home.
Lord, this Christmas while we reflect upon your amazing grace displayed in the gift of a Savior, may we also fully embrace your call for us to share your light, your lo±ve, and your grace to those around us. Forgive us for ignoring those stuck in darkness. Shine your light through us as we act as your representatives in the world today. Wash away our sins of apathy and our selfishness that we might be fully available to you as Kingdom ambassadors.
Amen.
Your time with God’s Word
Psalm 36:1-11; John 1:1-5, 9-14, 16 ESV
Photos by Javier García and Gabriel Lamza on Unsplash
