4 minute read
Gift of Light—Jesus Christ
A Savior has come: a Savior who brought light to the darkness, a Savior who brought grace to the graceless, a Savior who brought hope to the hopeless.
Reflecting on the coming of the Savior as a babe in a manger, we are reminded of the very reason He came—we needed a Savior. Humanity was lost and could not find its way to truly understand who God is; it could not understand the depths of His love and grace. And so, the God of heaven sent His only Son to come to demonstrate to us the width, height and depth of God’s love.
From His coming, we have been left with a ministry as Paul calls it in 2 Corinthians 4:
Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:1-6 NKJV)
Christ came to declare the glory of God the Father. Christ came to give knowledge to those who could not fully grasp an understanding of who God is. Christ came to give light in the darkness. Christ came to give us the gift of grace so that we, too, may share that gift with a world that needs to know God.
Paul says that God has “shone in our hearts to GIVE the light.” We have been given light that we in turn might give light. The light is not for our own reception, though we receive it. The light is not for our own hiding it under a bushel. The light given to us is so that we, too, might give the light of the knowledge of who God is in Jesus Christ to a world that needs to know Him.
Our message is not a message of self-gratification, self-glorification, or self-exaltation. Our message is a message of gratifying the Father, glorifying God, and exalting the King of kings and Lord of lords, with the hope that “the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should [would] shine on them [the lost of this world].” As we lift Him up, He has promised that He will draw all of humanity to Him (John 12:32).
And so, we manifest the truth of who Christ is—a Savior born to redeem humanity from sin and separation from God, and to bring us back into knowledge of who God is. We handle the Word of God with intention and care, allowing the Word to speak life into the lives of others, allowing the Word to demonstrate grace to those undeserving, allowing the Word to cleanse of all shame and regret, and allowing the Word to fill with hope and assurance.
We have a ministry. So, keep on sharing the ministry of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gift we have to give today is this ministry—this hope—that Christ was born, Christ lived, Christ died, and He rose again so that we too might have life and have it in its fulness.
Give light to this dark world— the light of Jesus Christ. He is our light, and He is our hope.
