December 2 – The Light Shines

“In him was life, and the life was the light of man.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not put it out.”  John 1: 5

As those of you who have visited our Village of Hope know, we often have power outages.  The most common time is between 5:30 and 9:00 in the evening.  Of course, by then the sun has set, so our houses are dark.  We walk around with candles, or flashlights (called torches here).

The other night, as we were all in darkness, there came the most beautiful singing from the children in the Village.  They were sitting on their verandahs and singing praise songs.  Even though I wasn’t with them, I knew that they were having fun and being filled with joy as they sang.  The darkness was not putting out the light, or joy, or peace.  As the children sang they were spreading LIGHT in the midst of the darkness.

What about us?  In our dark times, in the dark times of those around us, are we singing songs of LIGHT and victory?  Are we bearing light to a hurting world? 

Dear Jesus, May your light shine in our lives.  Help your light to shine so brightly within us that it radiates out to those around us who are walking in darkness and despair. 

Amen, Come, Lord Jesus.