Let your light shine

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Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

We are now officially in the Christmas season. We have gone through a year where so much has been turned upside down. Now we come to this blessed time where we remember the great gift that God gave to us.

As I think about Christmas this year, it seems that there is much more to it than the gift giving. Yes, I will watch smiles come to the faces of those for whom we have purchased gifts light up when they open them. But I don’t want the gifts or the giving of them to get in the way of my being able to experience Christmas in the way I need to experience it.

I love to look at the lights people put on their houses. Some folks really know how to decorate their homes. I couldn’t do much this year, but I really enjoy seeing the houses that are so lit up. On the way home Sunday evening I really enjoyed seeing the lights people had put up. It just put a smile on my face seeing the lights shining in the darkness.

As I drove by the different houses all lit up it made me think. It was the Christmas lights shining in the darkness that brought a beauty in the darkness. I am amazed that the lights can take an ordinary looking house and turn it into a thing of beauty. Whether there are lights all over the house or simply shining on the house, it brings a change.

At Christmas we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Oh, what a wonderful time it is as we consider what God has done for us through Christ. In John 1 there are two verses that speak to the light that is shed on us. Very simply in v.4 John writes, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” Then v.14 it says, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

When the angels appeared to the shepherds on the hillside, the glory of the Lord shone around them. In that moment the glory of the Lord illuminated that hillside. It was surely a marvelous expression of the One who would bring light into the darkness of this world as He became flesh and dwelt among us.

I have seen the lights on houses going up in the past week, but as I looked at them this evening, I saw them as an expression of God’s light shining in the world. I know the lights on Christy Street may not shine where you are, but that’s not important. The important thing is that the light of Jesus Christ can and does shine where you are.

He is the life and His life is the light of men, as the glory of the only begotten of the Father. As He shines around you at this time, the question is will you let His light shine through you. As I looked at the lights on the houses, I realized that it is important for me to let my light shine before men.

The words of that song we sang as kids comes to my mind. Some of you remember it, I’m sure. It says, “This little light of mine, This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. I’m gonna let it shine. Hide it under a bushel – NO! I’m gonna let it shine. This little light of mine, This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. I’m gonna let it shine. Shine it all over Pampa. I’m gonna let it shine.”

We know that He is the light and we are in Him, so the question still remains, “Will we let our light shine?” I hope and pray you have a blessed Christmas season and the Light, Jesus Christ, will shine brightly in your life.

JESUS, JESUS, JESUS, there IS something about that name!!

Christ only, always,

Bro. Paul

Brother Paul Nachtigall is the preacher at Highland Baptist Church. He can be reached at bropaul@centramedia.net.