The Light Shines
“What does the radar look like?” Chelsea and I were sitting in the living room that afternoon and she had noticed the darkening sky and increasing winds. I pulled out my iPad and took a look. The radar didn’t look too bad - some red for sure, but it was a narrow band of storms hitting the outskirts of Nashville. Then, suddenly, I caught sight of the tornado symbol. Then another one. They were embedded in the radar on my screen, showing active tornados on the ground. We quickly turned on the TV so we could keep up with what was happening and Chelsea ran upstairs to get her mom, who was visiting us for a couple of weeks. A few minutes later, a tornado passed within a mile or two of our house while we huddled in our master closet. We could hear the wind and rain and what sounded like hail for a little bit, then suddenly everything went black as our neighborhood lost power. As the storm moved on, I set up one of our kerosene lamps and lit it. The house, which had been eerily quiet and dark, was suddenly bathed in a warm glow.
Two thousand years ago, the world was shut in darkness. Unlike our physical darkness, which lasted for a few hours until the power returned, this was a spiritual darkness which had lasted for millennia. Every once in a while, a prophet would speak into the darkness, emitting a pinpoint of light, foretelling the birth of Someone yet to come. Then, finally, in the fullness of time, a Son was born. Not just another baby, but the Word Who had existed from time eternal. And the Apostle John tells us, “The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it” (John 1:4, 5). Through the stormy darkness, a lamp was lit. A lamp whose rays would stream across time, bringing warmth and comfort to all who accept it. “So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son” (John 1:14).
