Great Light

Veneer

The holiday season is truly one of my favorite times of the year. Obviously, this is because of the primary reason for the focus and prominence of the incarnation. Jesus came to save us from our sin! And the reminders are all around us. But I also enjoy all the trappings that come with the Christmas festivities. I like cold weather, Christmas lights, holiday foods, and Christmas music both old and new. However, in the midst of enjoying all of these fun and familiar things we can also be tempted to turn a blind eye to real needs going on around us. The reality is that we do live in a fallen and cursed world. While the message and hope of Christmas is that Jesus has come to rid the world of this curse, we still deal with the lingering reality of the curse all around us. We must allow ourselves to preserve a false feeling of nostalgia or naivete when the reality of suffering and sin are just outside our doors.

Unfortunately, often we are able to put these problems out of sight and so keep them out of mind. We may be tempted to construct a narrative where the people who are suffering are simply reaping the fruit of their own choices and so we think they do not deserve help. It may be true that they are suffering the consequences of sin but if we are people who have received grace from God then we ought also to be people eager to extend grace to others who like us are undeserving. In these cases what we are often doing is looking for a way of excusing ourselves from the mess and misery of the hardship caused by sin.

Why?

Why would we not be more quickly and readily inclined to help? I do not think it is a lack of compassion or desire that keeps Christians from heping in these cases. Rather, the problem is often a lack of a sense of adequacy or competency. What I mean is that we do not know how to help. We genuinely do not know how to actually help them or we don’t think that they would be receptive to what genuine help would look like. Sometimes the problem is that we are overwhelmed by the need. We understand that helping is going to be hard and uncomfortable and messy. On top of all of this is the lack of assurance that we can make lasting change. None of these will serve as sufficient excuses before God, but they do serve as practical excuses that keep us sidelined and ineffective all too often.

Sympathy

I do not mean that we should leap off into the problems and poverty with people in such a way that we are simply suffering with them. If we do this they are still miserable and we are now miserable with them. Instead, we must be seeking to apply the good news of hope through Christ to their lives as Christ has worked in our lives so that they are the better for the interaction. Instead of jumping in and drowning with them, we must maintain our sure footing so that we can help them! The point is that we must be aware of the need and ready to help. We are on duty! I imagine our role as those who have been saved by God’s grace like that of a person saved by a lifeguard. Since I have been saved I want others who are drowning in the same pool of sin that I was in to also be saved!
Shine

In Isaiah chapter 9 where we read about the son who is to be given to us, we also read that the people who have walked in darkness have seen a great light (Isaiah 9:2). The point of the passage is that the Messiah who would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2) would however come from Galilee. Now Galilee was the backwaters of Israel, not the place of prominence. But that is the point: the light of Christ was not just for those in Jerusalem but for the nations as well. This applies to us in that we must realize that the good news of Christ is not just for us but for others who are now suffering. They are in great darkness but light has come. Tragedy and trial have struck but hope and salvation are real and available in Christ! But we must be willing to get outside our comfort zone and shine the light that we have been given. This hope is not just a story or a belief, this hope is a person and His name is Jesus! If you are struggling, please reach out to us. We want to help! If you are enjoying the benefits of Christ and His kingdom, I would encourage you to seek to show others the light. This week I am going to include a link to a Christmas song that could also be helpful! (Glory in the Darkiest Place)

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