"Rise and Shine"
My dad loved lights – especially at the holidays. Our home had electric candles in every window. Strings of blue, green and red bulbs adorned the shrubbery.
For years we had a silver Christmas tree with a rotating color wheel adding festive illumination. And at some point he determined our house should have year-round “California lights” adding color for hours each evening.
When my wife Lori and I moved to Israel in 1980, we experienced Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, “up close and personal.” For eight days we joined our Jewish friends in lighting the candles throughout the eight-day celebration. The chill of the Jerusalem evenings receded in the warmth of the glow of the menorah.
Hanukkah began on December 22 this year, so on Christmas Eve the shamash (first-lit “servant candle”) lit three additional candles. Whether your home was brightened by a Hanukkiah (nine-branched menorah) or Christmas tree this year, we hope your heart was filled with true joy.
“Holiday cheer” is transient, at best. In fact, for some, “the most wonderful time of the year” is filled with dark memories from the past. Many live in the gloomy shadows of loneliness. Others battle deep depression only made worse by the reveling of those around them.
As wondrous as illumination can be, not everyone is drawn toward light. In the context of the most-quoted verse of the Bible[1], The Light of the World, Yeshua[2], tells Nicodemus, “The Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.”[3]
It’s easy to bemoan the encroaching darkness of moral decay and materialistic decadence in our world. But a brighter future awaits!
I love Isaiah’s imagery when describing the return of Israel’s Messiah:
“Arise, shine; for your light has come,
And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
2 For behold, darkness will cover the earth
And deep darkness the peoples;
But the Lord will rise upon you
And His glory will appear upon you.
3 Nations will come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.”[4]
The “deep darkness” that covers the nations of the earth will be dispelled by the appearance of the Lord. People from distant lands will be drawn to His brightness in that day when He is revealed in His shining glory.
Isaiah 60 is filled with imagery of God’s blessings as Israel is restored in peace and righteousness – for His glory. Verse 21 states:
“Then all your people will be righteous;
They will possess the land forever,
The branch of My planting,
The work of My hands,
That I may be glorified.”
But even as believers eagerly await our Lord’s return and the consummation of the ages, we have work to do. We are commanded to “walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light.”[5] Indeed, Jesus tells His followers, “You are the light of the world.”[6]
Isaiah 60 concludes with this promise of God. “I the LORD, will hasten it in its time.”[7]
This reminds us of the closing verses of Revelation, where Yeshua says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.”[8]
“Come, Lord Jesus.”
Written by Wes Taber, LIFE Global Ambassador
Some diagnostic questions to consider:
How bright is my light today?
Are others drawn to the Lord by the warmth of God’s love and joy radiating in me?
How does knowing “the end of the story results in God’s great glory” inform my attitude and actions now?
What if today is the day when I’m called to stand before the Holy One of Israel? Will I run to the Light with joy, or shrink from Him in terror?
If you don’t yet know the freedom from fear of divine judgment that comes from having assurance of God’s forgiveness, we’d be delighted to show you from Scripture how to have a right relationship with Him.
“Now is the accepted time. Today is the day of salvation.”[9]
Footnotes:
[1] John 3:16 – For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
[2] Jesus identifies Himself with this title in John 8:12.
[3] John 3:19.
[4] Isaiah 60:1-3.
[5] 1 John 1:7.
[6] Matthew 5:14; see also Ephesians 5:8.
[7] Isaiah 60:22.
[8] Revelation 22:12 & 20.
[9] 2 Corinthians 6:2.