An Advent Encouragement: Become Light

Advent season has come. Advent literally means coming, the coming of Jesus. This is the time where we try to stop during the Christmas frenzy and remember truth. We recenter on what is most important so we can re-enter the world with hope. So here is my Advent encouragement to you.

Jesus is the light of the world.

Scripture is soaked with this truth. It’s in many of the Advent Scripture readings. But Jesus said it Himself as well: “I am the light of the world.”

What does light do? It dispels the darkness of evil. It evaporates the sting of shame. It burns away the guilt of sin. It lightens the burdens of the heart. It heals sickness. It shows the way forward. It gives joy and peace. It crushes despair and enlivens hope.

Now go back and replace the word it with Jesus in all the above sentences. This is what He does for each of us. This is what He is doing for the world. Now you see why the birth of Christ has been the cause for immense celebration throughout history. “The darkness is passing, and the true light is already shining” (I John 2:8).

But there is more…

You are the light of the world.

Jesus calls Himself the light of the world, but then He turns around and says the same thing about us! “You are the light of the world.” Most of us take that to mean that we are to go out and spread His light everywhere. And that is certainly true.

But notice what Jesus didn’t say. He didn’t just say you have My light (which is also a true statement). He said it this way: “You are the light of the world.” This is first and foremost an identity statement. Whatever you might feel about yourself, this is how Jesus sees you. You are not your sin. You are not your shame. You are not your dysfunctional family. You are not your wealth or your career. You are not your success or your failures.

You are the light of the world. This is how Jesus sees you. And how He sees you is who you really are.

He is already hinting at one of the great truths that saturate Paul’s letters. The living Christ is in us. His presence is infiltrating our spirits, our minds, our hearts, our emotions, our very cells. He is dispelling anything and everything that is not like Himself. And He is replacing it with His joy, His peace, and His truth.

But we don’t feel like a light to the world much of the time. So how do we get there?

You can become a light.

You can’t get there by trying harder or muscling your way into this. None of that works. Instead, this is all about being still and receiving. You are already children of light. You just need to allow your body and soul to experience this truth.

There are lots of ways to do this. Here’s a simple one, using one of Paul’s prayers: “Open the eyes of their hearts and let the light of your truth flood in.”

Start this way. Sit in a comfortable position and slow your breath down. Invite the Holy Spirit to open your eyes to see the truth that you are the light of the world. Then imagine light coming from above flooding into your head and all through your body. Allow the light to penetrate anything in you that feels dark or tense or unhealed. Picture the light in you until you feel things shifting. Then talk to Jesus about what happened in you.

Simple? It is. This is only a 2-3 minute prayer exercise. Repeat daily and watch what happens. Nothing is impossible with His presence. Remember, you are not picturing something that is imaginary. You are not using mind manipulation. You are picturing what is potently true so that you can experience it as real.

This is my Advent encouragement to you. Let His light flood in you. Receive it. Then go and be a light to the world.

Bill

Photo by Zahra on Unsplash