Holidays

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DRAWN TO
OR
REPELED BY
THE LIGHT

BY CHUCK JOHNSON



I was thinking the other day about the wonders of the Christmas season. How exciting it must have been to be alive when Christ was born!

The shepherds were greeted by an angel of the Lord proclaiming the "Good News". "...I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:10-11). Imagine for a moment, that you are transported back in time to that very night.

It is, on the surface, a night like any other. Your day began at sunrise, just like all of the other days. First, you took a head-count of your flock, making sure all were accounted for; none had strayed or been taken prey during the night. Next, you found a perfect grazing place full of fresh dew-covered grass; after all, these gentle creatures' very lives had been entrusted to you for safekeeping. You then find a nice stream for watering, and you carefully dam up the flow to create the still waters that the sheep can quench their thirst in. Finally, you find a place of shade to protect the sheep from the hot mid-day sun. Night falls, and you prepare a fire to protect you from the chill of night. Lying in your bedroll gazing up at the stars you recall the teachings of the priest. God had promised Abraham, that his seed would be as innumerable as the stars of the night sky. With satisfaction you think, "I am one of those many seeds."

As you sit back contemplating the end to another day, you think it's just another day - same ol' same ol'. Hey! What's going on? Where is that bright light coming from? You try to look at it, but its brilliance is overwhelming. Then you hear a loud voice. It sounds as if it is coming from the very heavens. Standing before you is an angel of the Lord. He is well over eight feet tall. His skin glows a bronzed hue. He is girded about the waist by a massive golden belt. You notice a large sword, but it is not drawn. Rather, it is sheathed. For this night the angel has not come as a warrior but a messenger.
His job on this predestined night is to bring the greatest news the world has ever heard. The Messiah has come - the Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Bright and Morning Star the great I AM. You listen intently as he tells you where to find this miraculous child known as Christ the Lord. Then, as quickly as it came, the bright light is gone.

You squint your eyes to once again adjust to the darkness. You use your staff to support your legs that feel as rubber under you. And, rushing around, you gather with your fellow shepherds, who are just as stupefied as you, and you head to the manger. Would you not have loved to have been one of those shepherds, to have been one of the first to behold the Messiah?

For so many of us our first encounter with our Savior comes in the darkest of our nights. It is when we have given up or are about to, when we feel that all is in vain. Then it happens - the light of Christ comes bursting through! In all its brilliance every dark corner of our hearts is exposed. No more fooling those around us - no more fooling ourselves.

How does this light come today? It may be in a quiet moment of introspect, when hopelessness has driven you to your knees. Or perhaps an encounter with one who has already found this Savior, and His light shines through them. How it comes is not important. How you react to this light is of utmost importance. You will either be drawn to the Savior in total surrender, or you will run from the light choosing to remain in darkness. "And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil" (John 3:19).

As we celebrate the Christmas season, will you embrace the light, Jesus Christ, or will you turn back to the darkness? Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy! Let The Prince of Peace become your Prince of Peace this glorious season.

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