Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Isaiah 9:2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined.
CHRISTMAS CONTRASTS: LIGHT AND DARKNESS
A couple of weeks ago, when we got our first snow of the season, the power went out during the storm. Since it was cloudy that night as well, the darkness seemed to envelop everything. Without the small light of my cell phone I would have had to slowly feel my way to get around. It's a rare occurrence in our modern day to experience complete darkness, perhaps some of us may have never experienced it. Darkness like this is suffocating and paralyzing, it forces you to change the way you operate. But when you are in the midst of complete darkness, it also gives you a renewed appreciation for the way God uses the illustration of darkness and light in His Word.
In our verse for today, God spoke a prophecy of the coming of His Son through the prophet, Isaiah. He describes sin and its effects as darkness. Sin brings the most destructive darkness into our lives by enveloping our souls in unrighteousness. The darkness of sin is the most suffocating thing in the world, pressing in on our lives from all angles. Truly, with sin in our lives we are unable to accomplish anything on our own, just like trying to walk around in complete darkness.
But God did not just use Isaiah to describe sin, He also used him to record the promise of deliverance. Jesus Christ, the Light of the world, was promised to be born as one of us, one who traversed the darkness. Through Jesus, the light of the gospel shines forth, piercing the darkness of sin and illuminating our hearts by faith. And the truth is that light always conquers darkness, always holds it in subjection. In the same way, Jesus always conquers sin and always holds Satan in subjection. Jesus came that first Christmas to light up the world. Today, He continues that task for you by the lamp of His Word.
