Isaiah 42:1, 5-6
Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles
Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:
I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles.
Isaiah 60:1-3, 19-22
Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.
For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.
And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.
The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.
Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.
Thy people also shall be all righteousness: they shall inherit the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.
A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the Lord will hasten it in his time.
There are a lot of verses here, and the thing that stands out the most for me is that the light that would come is not only for Jews, but also for Gentiles. That's one of the most amazing occurrences (in my mind at least). God is not only the God of the Jews...I am able to be his child also. And no longer are we under the law of Moses. We are under the new covenant.
Christmas is not really about Jesus just coming as a baby. That's what we focus on, but if he'd just come as a baby, then done nothing else, the world would still be dark. There would be no salvation, there would be sacrifices.
But Jesus came, and he was born to do more than just hang out on earth. He was born to change the world, and to be our light. Jesus would be the ultimate sacrifice for everyone on earth.
Every year, we have lights up in our windows, as well as on the tree. It always makes such a difference when I come into the house after dark when those lights are on. They are just little Christmas lights, but they dispel so much darkness. When Jesus came, it was a very dark time for Israel. When he was born though, a light began to shine through the darkness. Some people saw it right then.
For Mary and Joseph, the shepherds and wise men, Anna and Simeon, the light was bright and obvious. Most people though, had grown so used to the darkness that they did not see the light at all. They went along as though everything was the same. And then there were people like Herod, and later the Pharisees, who wanted the light destroyed at all costs. But they could not destroy it.
Have you ever noticed that about darkness? When you have a light on, the darkness cannot just come and take over and destroy the light. The light banishes the darkness from the places where it shines, and the darkness has no power to do anything about it.
God is our everlasting light, and he is our glory. What darkness do we need to fear?
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