Monday, January 15, 2018
Isaiah 60:1 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.
CRAVING THE LIGHT?
Are you craving the light? When I walk into our kitchen I turn on all the overhead lights plus the counter task lights just for the brightness. If you could, would you fly off today for the sunshine of Florida? This is the time of year when cold, winter-shortened days begin to wear on many of us. We crave light to lift our spirits and boost our energy. Our bodies need the light.
Our souls need light every bit as much. The difference, however, is that by nature we don't crave spiritual light at all. Jesus told Nicodemus, "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil" (John 3:19). Left to ourselves we would stay in the darkness of sin and unbelief not knowing or caring about the light.
But God in His divine mercy didn’t just walk away to leave us suffer the darkness of eternal death. He sent His Son to be our light. Jesus says, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12). The gospel calls us out of the darkness and hopelessness of sin into the bright, warm sunshine of forgiveness and peace with God.
The Word works within us a craving for the light of Jesus and then satisfies the craving with the message that everything necessary for our salvation has been accomplished. "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine" (Isaiah 43:1). What is truly amazing about the Word is that the more we hear, read, and meditate on it to satisfy our souls' needs, the greater our craving for more of the Word becomes, which leads us back again to the Lord for even more blessings! Try it and find out for yourself.
That's what the Epiphany season is really all about--Jesus shining out as the Light of the world and our being drawn to Him to satisfy the deepest longings of our soul for peace with God and a place in His kingdom.
