“The True Light of Christmas - Beyond the Twinkling Lights”
by Babs KinCaid
Christmas is more than twinkling lights, spectacular presents, melt-in-your-mouth homemade cookies and the perfect family gathering. The truth is the heart of Christmas is galaxies beyond the beautifully staged Thomas Kinkade winter wonderland scene. The lie is you can shop till you drop and you can purchase what you need to make the best sparkling Christmas ever happen. The stress of trying to reach this unattainable goal is devastating. People go through rigorous torture to find the colossal gift of a lifetime! The only reward from that experience is debt and pure exhaustion!
The true Light is the extravagant gift that too many people miss each Christmas. Visualize God’s compelling true Light perspective of Jesus from the Masterpiece book of all wisdom: “…the world was made by Him, and the world knew him not… That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world… He came unto His own, and His own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1: 10, 9, 11-13 According to Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance the Greek word “lighteth” #5461 means “to shed rays, to shine, or to brighten up: enlighten, illuminate, bring to light, and make to see.” So Jesus gives us His Light for us to shine and to see. According to Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance the Greek word for power is exousia # 1849 in John 1:12 which means “privilege, force, competency, freedom, mastery, (concretely, magistrate, superhuman, potentate, token of control), delegated influence:--authority, jurisdiction, liberty, power, right, strength.” That is quite a gift! Did you catch the phrase “delegated influence?” Think about it, everyone who believes in Christ has the delegated influence to become a child of God! Christmas is all about the true Light coming into the world to give mankind the privilege to become children of God! The shepherds received this gift and traveled to the manager where they worshipped the true Light. To the shepherds, an angel of the Lord said: “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:10
I remember my very first Christmas after I made the decision to receive Jesus as my Savior my Christmas was radically different. Surprisingly, I saw Christmas through a different lens after the scales from my eyes had been removed. My new and bright Christmas was about Christ and His amazing gift of love to me. All the twinkling lights reminded of the true Light of Jesus! Check it out from the words of Jesus: “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” John 8:12b I felt very enlightened and illuminated with great joy! For the very first time in my life, I felt like Christmas came alive with worth and hope!
When you connect to God’s heart and meditate on His word a masterpiece can be born. God is the masterpiece music writer. Didn’t God anoint all of the songs in the book of Psalms in the Bible, 150 to be exact? Shockingly, didn’t God anoint George Frederic Handel to write the Messiah? “In 1741, George Frederic Handel‘s heath was failing, audiences had deserted him and he was in debt. Seeing no hope for the future, his music, or his life, he was ready to retire in disgrace.” Spiritual Moments With Great Composers by Patrick Kavanaugh. Who did God choose to write the Messiah, but a 56 year old man going through a pit of disappointment and hardship? Yea, I love that God champions the underdog so many times! Patrick Kavanaugh quotes from his book: “At one point a servant came into Handel’s room…He reported having seen…a weeping Handel refused the food and exclaimed, “I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God himself.” Wow, now that is an epic picture! Another quote from Kavanaugh sums it up quite nicely: “But Handel was a man listening to the voice of God. Struck with the power of the words of scripture, he opened himself to the Holy Spirit and let the Spirit work through him to produce what can be described as a wonder.” Jesus said it best: “But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.” John 3:21The Messiah is nothing short of outstanding artistry! Here is a famous quote from composer George Frederic Handel about his music: “I should be sorry if I only entertained them, I wish to make them better.” I love the fact that Handel's heart motivation was to bring people to a more excellent awareness of God that could transform them. Ludwig van Beethoven said of Handel: “He was the greatest composer that ever lived.”
One day at work the LORD orchestrated for me to wait on a vivacious little girl and her dad, no doubt to enhance my Christmas experience. The little girl was singing…you guessed it “This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine. This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine.” I was so moved as I felt like God was reminding me of what life was all about. Jesus said powerful words on this subject: “You are the light of the world…Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14a, 16 The little girl was letting her light shine in a beautiful way and that is my prayer for all of us to do likewise!
This Christmas, you can choose what is better. “The LORD is my light and my salvation.” Psalm 27:1a Sit at the feet of Jesus! God is the masterpiece composer of your best life experience! Enjoy a majestic Christmas by enjoying the true Light of Jesus and letting it shine through you! Then it will be a very Merry Christmas!!!
