Saturday, December 20, 2014
One of my favorite things to do during Christmas is to slow down and read the story of Jesus’ birth.
A particular passage in Luke strikes my heart every time.
It’s when Zechariah, a Jewish priest and the brand new father to John the Baptist, prophesies about the Messiah.
He describes Christ as “The Rising Sun” from heaven sent to us because of God’s tender mercy: …because of the tender mercy of our God … the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace. (Luke 1: 78-79)
For anyone who knows what it’s like to live in spiritual darkness, this description of Jesus is especially beautiful.
Many years ago, I went on a spelunking trip, a caving expedition. We wore hard hats with battery-powered lights. At one point, the guide had us turn off our lights. It was so dark, I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face.
That was how my life was before God’s mercy opened my spiritual eyes to see the worth of His Son.
I grew up going to church. I learned a lot of facts about Jesus, yet I lived my life as if He didn’t really exist, or worse, that He wasn’t as valuable as the fleeting things of this world.
But God, in His kindness, helped me to see the emptiness and darkness of the things that enslaved me — lust, anger, self-centeredness and religious pride.
That was the dawn of a new day for me. That was when the rising sun began to shine the light of His kindness and worth into the darkness of my heart. That’s when I began to see that heaven’s greatest gift was packaged in flesh, wrapped in ribbons of blood-red, torn open and strung up on a tree — for me.
That’s when the story of Jesus’ birth became personal. That’s when Christ invited me to become a living cradle of His indwelling presence and an ongoing feeding trough of His mercy.
Since then, Jesus has been like a rising sun in my life. Season after season, in good times and tough times, His bright kindness has been progressively conquering my heart and dispelling darkness.
He lovingly teaches me to turn from things that lead to death and His Spirit patiently guides me into the “Path of peace.”
When Christ comes again, this rising sun will reach His noontime brightness. The nations will see His blinding glory (Isaiah 40:5).
Until then, Jesus still comes to dark and dirty stables.
He longs to wrap Himself in the broken and torn rags of our humanity and become the “Bread of Life” placed in the center of our mangers (John 6:35).
This “Dayspring from on high” that Zechariah spoke of long ago invites us to bring the misdirected appetites of our souls to Him regularly in order “Taste and see” that He is good (Psalm. 34:8).
O come, let us adore Him … for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. (Malachi 4:2)
John Weisman recently served as pastor of Pleasant Valley Church in Liberty and now teaches at Neo Academy in Warren.