Tag Archives: shine your light

One of our family traditions on Christmas Eve was to go look at Christmas lights. We would go to church, then my mom would want to drive around in different neighborhoods. She would oooh and ahhhh at how creative people got with their lights. Sometimes whole streets would be involved and have a theme. Those were her favorite. House after house was lit up, and to her, that was Christmas.

After she had seen enough, we would drive to our home that didn’t have lights. She called it “The Black Hole”. It became a family joke. If people were coming over, we’d tell them, “Turn left on our street, then look for the black hole.” On the outside, we may have had the darkest house on the street, but inside, we celebrated the true meaning of Christmas every year. We were taught that Jesus was the light of the world and that it was more important that our lives be light.

Isaiah 9:2 says, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. They lived in a land of shadows, but now light is shining on them” (GNB). This prophesy was looking forward to when Jesus would come into the world. The promise was that people who lived in the Black Hole would one day see a light and have hope. Where there is light, darkness hides. Jesus used His light to show us the way to the Father.

Jesus gave His light to us as His followers. Our lives should be doing the same thing. We need to live in such a way that people in darkness are drawn to us, and we can show them the way to the Father. Living life as “The Black Hole” is not an option for us. We must let our light shine brightly. Without your light shining, how will the people around you, who live in darkness, ever find their way to God? You were planted right where you are because God needed your light to shine right there. This Christmas time, let it shine brighter than ever.