The Child, the Child, sleeping in the night; He will bring us goodness and light
An important part of a Californian’s Earthquake Preparedness Kit is a flashlight. This vital tool brings light to the darkness when all the other lights go out. Even without a power outage, there are times in our lives when it seems the light has gone out.
This holiday season sometimes has a way of distracting us from the Light that shines within us. The rush of preparations, the desire for a perfect holiday, or even the memories of past Christmases can accentuate both our deepest hopes and the fears that keep us up at night.
Christmas cannot be bought at the store. It cannot be created. Christmas can only be found in the Child sleeping in the night. Only because Christ entered into our world can Christmas be a time of great joy.
At our deepest level, we know Christmas isn’t about getting nice gifts – it is about the Light of the World entering into it and offering us grace. The light of the Star of Bethlehem meant God crawled into our world to heal it and mend our broken hearts. He loves us even when we don’t love ourselves. His deepest desire for us is to have more of what really matters – more peace, more joy, more love.
The Child who brings goodness and light longs for you to rest in his embrace. And while we may not be certain what our next steps will be, we can always be certain of God’s hand in ours. Christ gave himself to us in order to touch the wounds of our heart with a warm and gentle hand.
He knows us intimately, yet into those places we seek to hide, his light enters. Just like the light in the sky dazzling the shepherds, that blinding brilliance of the angel who brought good tidings to all people, his light is for you. You can always count on it: Jesus is the light surrounding you, illuminating your footsteps, bring warmth to every corner of your life. His light is always waiting to shatter the darkness.
Goodness and light – the Light of the World gave us the most expensive Christmas gift of all: himself. His grand plan is to conquer the dark and flood it with the radiance of his light and love. His mission is a wild and loving pursuit of us.
The child sleeping in the night would awaken. The babe sleeping in the wooden manger eventually would lay down on a wooden cross. And with the scars he bore on our behalf there, he would restore us. He would save us.