Celebrate the LIGHT

I love the Christmas story. The Infant with the humblest beginnings came from heaven to earth as a human to bring us our first Christmas greeting. The Star. The Angels. The shepherds. The over-crowded Inns, The Stable. I love to read the story and every year there is something new revealed to my heart through that amazing event recorded by Matthew and Luke. The details of that ancient story are played out in churches around the world every single year. But, when speaking of Jesus coming to Earth, his cousin John states, “His life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.” John wasn’t so much interested in recording the details of the birth of Jesus. He wanted his readers to grasp the significance of His coming.

As word travels that my Dad is in the final weeks of his life, I can’t tell you how many people have commented about what an impact he had on their lives. “He is the best example I have ever seen of Jesus.”  “He is the one who led me to Jesus.” “He walked more closely to Jesus than anyone I have known.” To those comments, his response is always the same. “Reflecting Jesus is what life here is all about.” 

My Dad has done a great job, in his 84 years, of reflecting that light that John spoke about. And I feel so blessed to be able to say I was raised by a man who centered his life on being a reflector. The other day he said to me, “I don’t want people to stand up at my memorial service and talk about anything good they saw in me. I am not good. I am simply the product of the grace and goodness of God. It doesn’t really matter what we have said or done. If lives haven’t been changed by God’s graciousness, it just doesn’t matter.”

In six decades I can’t remember a single time when Dad made any situation about him. His words and actions were always considering the needs of others. Of course, he didn’t always get everything right, but the Light within him always brought a humility and humor that allowed him to acknowledge his mistakes and laugh at himself.

It is such an honor to have known and loved the man whose heart’s desire was to be yoked to Jesus so that he could learn His ways and reflect the love and the light that changes everything. It is a total blessing to care for one who understands that it's not the duration of your life, but the donation of your life that matters. 

My prayer for you this Christmas is that you, too, will make the transition from viewing the events of Jesus birth, to meditating on the significance that His coming is to each of us. He brought LIGHT so that we would never have to live in the darkness. Walk in that Light. Look to that Light. Reflect that Light. Celebrate the LIGHT.