Driving home from Taylor last night, we exited I-94 at Cadieux to drive by the lights on Jefferson. The Cadieux Café – and I think all the businesses – was closed for the holiday, which we were pleased to see. The lights, however, at various homes and businesses were on bright display just as we hoped.
We drove up Jefferson all the way to Shook (and discovered there were few lights to see north of Eleven Mile). However, before that, home after home was decorated – some more spectacular than others … many in simple yet elegant ways. And the one on the corner (is that Moross?) stood out from all the rest, just as expected.
I love the way Christmas lights echo the Christmas story as told by John. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. … In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. … The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. … But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1.1-14)
Have you heard the story about the little boy who was afraid of the dark? The light in his bedroom was never turned off, and his closet door was always closed tight. In fact, he refused to open his closet door because he was convinced that if he did, the darkness of his closet would take away all the light in his bedroom! It may sound silly, but no-one could convince him that the light would drive the darkness away until one day someone opened the closet door while he was out of the room. The simple act of leaving the door open changed the little boy’s life.
In an even more profound way, the simple act of opening a Bible and reading from it on a daily basis changes our lives. From those pages shine “the true light, which gives light to everyone.” And the darkness – that is, whatever is hidden in your closet – cannot overcome … grasp, comprehend, overtake … the light. Light by its nature – whether we are talking about the creation or the creator – always drives darkness away.
And that’s the story of Christmas – the light of Christ Jesus coming to rescue us from all the dangers of the darkness … the true light coming into the world to give light to everyone … the Word of God making his dwelling in our midst to free us from our fears. Merry Christmas. I pray that your New Year will be blessed by this light shining from its pages to you each day.