Thought for Monday, 5 December

 John 8:12

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness,but will have the light of life.

One of the features of the Christmas season that I’m sure we all enjoy, is the decorative lighting that appears in the shops, in our streets, in our gardens and in our houses.  My personal preference is the multi-coloured lights but I’m advised that I’m being old fashioned so I’ve to put up with the duller, boring and much less attractive (only joking!!!) soft white version.

God created the Sun, the moon and the stars which provides us with our material light by day and by night so when Jesus said he was the light of the world, it was not an unnecessary, additional material light, it was different, it was an internal spiritual light.

Anyone who struggles to understand the world needs only look to Christ in and by whom all things are illuminated. In Christ all the questions are answered: How did we get here; what’s wrong with the world; how can it be fixed; what is the meaning of life; how should we live?

In this run-up to Christmas, we’re hearing all the usual rubbish about wishing each other ‘Happy holidays’ rather than ‘Happy Christmas’.  As Christians, we need to do what we can to keep Christ in Christmas and it seems to be getting more difficult each year.  If we look at the decorations in our shops, houses and gardens, there seems to be less and less relating to the Bethlehem Christmas story.  We need to do what we can to remind others that Jesus is the reason for the season.

 Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank you for the spiritual light that you bring into our lives, help us resist the temptation to make our celebration of Christmas in any way, less about the birth of our Saviour.  Help us to put the meaningless aspects aside and focus on the Peace, Hope, Faith, Love and Joy that are the real gifts that this time of year can bring.  Amen