The Christmas Light

A crowd had already gathered on the front lawn by the time I got there all bundled up in my sweater and hat. All the normal evening-time lights had been turned off in order to create the most wintery darkness, and the chatter in the air communicated an eagerness to see the great contrast that was about to occur.

Then, the countdown began. It was ten seconds until 6:00.

"Ten...nine...eight...seven..."

I stuck my hands in my pockets and lifted my eyes to the treetops.

"Five...four...three..."

Suddenly, on "three" all the lights flashed on, eliciting an audible gasp and murmur from the crowd. It only took an instant for the operators to realize that they jumped the gun, so they quickly flipped the switch to "off" once again and waited for the crowd to regroup.

"Three...two...one!" This time, the lights illuminated the entire front lawn right on cue. An extra enthusiastic "hooray" arose from the crowd because of the mishap, which added humor to Harding's annual lighting ceremony.

Every year during the Christmas season, the front lawn is decorated with hundreds of strands of blue-tinted lights that dangle from the tree tops like icicles.



I stood there several minutes, letting my eyes roam back and forth, trying to soak up the beauty, but unable to see it all at once without turning in circles.

It just isn't Christmas without the lights. I love driving around neighborhoods at night, oohing and aahing over the variety of classy and cheesy light decorations. I love taking jogs at night when I am all layered up in bundles. I watch my breath make fog, and I turn my head from side to side to watch the lights go by as I pass each house. I love making a pillow pallette by the Christmas tree so that my sister and I can fall alseep to the warm glowing lights. And I love how I move all my activities - reading, eating, working on a project, or playing games - to the dining room where the Christmas tree stands. It's because of the lights...and how they draw me in.

I wonder if that's how the Magi felt when they saw that one Christmas starlight blazing in the sky. I wonder if when they followed it, they felt that same magnetic pull to the light. And when the shepherds of Bethlehem were out in the fields, I wonder if the heavenly hosts of angels appeared in dazzling light. Did those shepherds' eyes sparkle with amazement like mine do when I watch Christmas lights?

For a moment, as I looked at the Christmas lights on the front lawn, I wondered how the Christmas light tradition originated. And then I knew.

A star lit the way for the Magi and a host of angels lit the way for the shepherds. It was light that led men to the Christ, who is light. The true light of the world, the life that gives light to all men, had come into the world (John 1:4-5).

Maybe that's why I love Christmas lights so much. When I look at them, I think of Him. I think of how God spoke light into darkness in the very beginning of time. I think about how light was brought into darkness when Jesus came to the world. And I realize how God has shone light and overcome darkness in my own life.

It just isn't Christmas without the Light. People talk about the magical feeling of Christmas, and those who know the Light really understand why. Can you feel it? This mysterious brilliance and magnetic pull of the Light of the world, who penetrates and overpowers darkness. The Light draws us in, powerfully pulling us closer and closer until we fix our gaze on Him - Jesus, the Light of the world. We lift our eyes, and they sparkle with delight as darkness is overcome by radiant glory. We spin around and soak up the beauty. And we draw closer and closer, for although He lives in unapproachable light (1 Timothy 6:16), God has made a way for us to come near. In Him and through faith in Him, we can approach God with freedom and confidence (Ephesians 3:12).