Prepare 1

Isaiah 9:2

A few years ago our church provided gift cards for needy families in the area. I was the one fortunate enough to have the task of delivering them. It was a true joy to see the faces of those who received these gifts, faces that brightened and lit up when they realized their holiday season with all of its stress and financial burdens had just been lightened.

The gifts we give at Christmas are but a poor reflection of the greatest gift that God gave the world. The prophet Isaiah sums up the feeling we can know when we see what God has done. Who are the people walking in darkness? What is the great light? What is the land of the shadow of death?

We can easily lose sight of why we celebrate and what it is we are remembering in our holiday traditions. We can get caught up in all the decorations and the gift-giving, preceded by all the gift buying that we endure. But at the heart of it all is the gift of God’s gracious love in the form of the baby Jesus.

When we reach that realization, when it becomes clear to us that the reason for all the Christmas pageantry and busy-ness is because we are filled with joy that God has loved us so much that He sent Jesus to the world that we might have everlasting life, then our joy can flash inside of us like a brilliant light. This is the image that Isaiah addresses.

This passage from Isaiah is a standard for the holiday. It is one of the first passages read that addresses the reason for the Christmas celebration. But what we can overlook is that we are the people spoken of by the prophet. We can be those people living in darkness. We can be the ones living in a world that has no hope and no direction.

We can be the people living in the shadow of death, the death of the soul, if we are not aware of the salvation God provides. And when we realize that God has sent Christ to the world to save us, then we can have the light of hope and love brighten our empty and dark souls. We can be filled with joy.

If we will truly honor the holiday and the memory of God’s gift we must be prepared to recognize that gift. We must watch to see God’s love moving in our world today.

DAILY CHALLENGE: Where do you need God’s light in your life?