the light still shines

​The Light Still Shines (Read time ≈ 7 minutes)
Text:
Isaiah 9:2
The people who walked in darkness
    have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
    on them has light shone.
 
     The problem with darkness, is that you can’t see. I know. I bet you didn’t know that already. Not being able to see in the darkness is not only inconvenient, the issue with darkness is that when you are in the dark you do not see the danger of the deadly things around you. You could be walking in pitch black darkness straight for a cliff and have no idea. A predator could be closing in on you and you would know no better than just that you are there… and you see nothing. Walking in the darkness, is dangerous. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death” (Psalms 23:4) imagine walking through a place called “The valley of the shadow of death” in complete and total darkness. Yeah… no thank you. It would seem almost certain that death within the valley would be imminent, inevitable and to add to the fear of the situation, you won’t even see it coming. However, that verse continues to say, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil…” How could you walk fearlessly through a place like that? “I will fear no evil, for You are with me”.
 
     This is the confidence that we have in Christ because He brought us out of the darkness. Revealed to us the dangers around us in our lives, and then liberated us from them. We all, at one point, were “the people who walked in darkness” and “dwelt in the land of deep darkness” and the “great light” we saw, the light that shown on us is Christ Himself. This verse, is a messianic prophecy of the coming of Jesus Christ. Just four verses later we get the iconic “For to us a child is born” (Isaiah 9:6) verse the prophesies the coming of Christ as an infant. The birth of Jesus Christ, was the coming of the Light that would reveal to us our sin, but also reveal to us our Savior. “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.” (John 1:9). He came to shed some light on some things. The life and ministry of Jesus was eye opening, to say the least. To reveal to us the darkness that we didn’t even realize that we dwelled in. This, for us, is a tremendous reason why we celebrate Christmas. The coming of the “great light” to liberate us from our own deadly darkness.
 
     Jesus was in fact the “great light” that was prophesied of in Isaiah 9:2. But Jesus also spoke of another light. A crucial light that must be shown in this day and age. That light… is YOU!
 
Matthew 5:14-16
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
 
     No, when Jesus said this, He was not looking in the mirror talking to Himself. He was talking to His disciples and His followers; if you consider yourself a Christian, that’s you. Jesus understood that He would not walk on earth forever, but His followers would. This was all a part of His plan. We certainly are not the “Great Light”, but rather, we are empowered by that light. We are possessed by His light. We walk in the light as He is in the light (1 John 1:7). This light that we shine is not ours. We dwelt in the darkness. This light that we shine is supernaturally imparted to us by the blood of Jesus Christ and we are empowered to share it by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is a challenge as Christmas is days away, you may be celebrating this holiday with those who still dwell in the darkness. Let the Great Light shine through your life. Allow His power to be revealed to those walking in darkness and trust Him to shine His light on them and thereby enlighten them of their darkness. His light came to liberate us. He then has called us to spread His light to the ends of the Earth. So do it.