Dec 10th Lights

I went out shopping yesterday in the late afternoon and by the time Id got to town and let the dogs out and faffed about a bit it was dark.  And the lights were on.  The Christmas ones - all down the high street.  There was a lovely Christmas tree and most of the shops had sparkly twinkly lights in their windows as well as the ones hanging from lamp-posts on each side of the road.   I love it.  Something about the lights at this time of the year makes me happy.

I started thinking about how lovely it is that at this time of year, every year, we get these wonderfully artistic, creative displays in our towns and cities for free.  And then I remembered that when I was very little my Mum bundled my brother and I into the car in our pyjamas and drove from our home in Leeds to Blackpool to see the illuminations.   If you have never been you should go.   I remember we drove really slowly down the seafront ( or wherever they were) gazing open-mouthed at the gazillion lightbulbs in the hundreds of enormous light displays.  It was astonishing - and it was way before the days of every town and high street having their own display, so it really was quite exciting to us as young children.

As I was thinking about this walking down the high street I was suddenly arrested by the image of God breathing into Adam to give him life.   God is light.  He is the Father of lights.  In Him there is no darkness or shadow.  And therefore what he breathed into Adam was light.  Light and life.

Maybe this is why we have a fascination with light.  We are drawn to things that sparkle and dance and  shine.  Think of how we respond to fireworks.  We mark all our major celebrations with lights - down to the candles on the birthday cake or the sparklers, glow sticks, luminous paint and glow in the dark clothing of parties.  We gaze at the stars and wonder about them.  We sing songs about the sunshine and the moonlight and the daybreak.  I wonder if we are drawn to light because God's very breath in us is light.   I suddenly feel incredibly thankful for my eyesight.  How terrible must it be to be in darkness all the time? 

Jesus's birth was heralded by the light of a star and the glory of angels.  Into a dark, dismal, depressing world heading for destruction came the light of the world. And from the moment of His birth everything became illuminated.  We could suddenly see what God was like.  The Scriptures were thrown open and the shrouds of religion were thrown off.  We were no longer like men stumbling along a wall feeling our way in the dark.  We became people of light

 So this Christmas season as we walk through towns adorned with pretty lights and admire the trees lit up in peoples windows, let's remember that God is light.  His Son came to bring that light to us and that we now carry His light with us wherever we go.  May the light that we carry help to show people the way.  And may we bring the same sort of delight and comfort that the Christmas lights bring to young and old alike.