“It’s Christmas! You should rejoice!” The presence of
family, presents under the Christmas tree, rocking around to different versions
of “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” should encourage everyone to celebrate!
Christmas, a time to rejoice with lights and perfections,
can also be one of the darkest times of the year. A close family member—parent,
spouse, sibling— may have passed away during this time, and that loss is
particularly painful during the Christmas season. There are many alone, homeless,
ill. They endure this festive time coupled with their intense, personal
privations. For many, Christmas should be a time of great celebration. This
pressure adds to their pain.
Christmas has been both a dark time and a bright time for me,
too. Some years, there was nothing but joy and victory to ponder from the
previous months. Sometimes, it seemed like there was nothing to celebrate.
In the world today, it seems that the shadow of death is not
just overcast, but cannot be overcome. Despite victories here and there on the
life and liberty front, the forces of evil march on:
1.
In Indonesia, a brutal tsunami wiped out
hundreds of lives just three days before Christmas. This is not the first time
in recent memory that a horrific tsunami wreaked such havoc during the
Christmas season.
2.
Throughout the world, younger generations are
determined to embrace socialism, the very corrosive cultural, economic, and
political cult which the Greatest Generation had defeated during World War II. Millennials
and even post-Millennials know nothing about the Freedom Trio of Reagan,
Thatcher, and Pope John Paul II who defeated Communism, and thus ended the Cold
War in 1989. Incidentally, he Soviet Union officially ceased to exist on
Christmas Day, 1991. Sadly, the Specter of Communism has not be consigned to
the ash heap of history after all.
3. In the so-called Free World of the West, freedoms
of speech, assembly, and religions face untold hardships. Tommy Robinson of
Great Britain reported the truth about Islam, and he was shut away in a prison
for months. Bill Whatcott of Canada endures untold criminal indictments just
for preaching the Gospel, and his government is more committed to political
correctness than moral uprightness to this day. Aaron and Melissa Klein of
Oregon, Jack Philipps of Colorado, and others face civil penalties or
unrelenting legal action because they refuse to endorse the LGBT Agenda in
their private businesses.
4.
Americans have forgotten the sacrifices which helped
bring down the Berlin Wall. At the same time, politicians in Washington DC
refuse to build a wall along the United States’ Southern Border to secure our
country and legacy.
5.
As of this writing, the stock market is facing
an unprecedented downturn. Wealth creation is turning into wealth evaporation
for those who bet big on a strong stock market.
6.
The very businessmen and corporations which
benefited from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 are using their unprecedented
wealth to undermine the very country which made wealth creation possible and
essential to its character of free enterprise.
7.
For three years in a row, the opioid crisis and
addiction epidemic has cut the average lifespan of Americans. The reason? Many
have lost the reason to live, and not just for a season.
It’s a dark time right time.
Despite these tragedies, all of us need to remember what—or
rather Who—this season celebrates.
Christmas is about the Light of the World (John 8:12) who
came into this darkness. It’s not about pretending there is no darkness, but about
remembering that the world has a Savior to rescue and protect us in the midst
of the darkness.
The prophet Isaiah declared:
“The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light:
they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light
shined.” (Isaiah 9:2)
Why?
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and
the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called
Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
(Isaiah 9:6)
There are so many walking, stumbling in a dark world right
now.
But notice that phrase “in the land of the shadow of death.”
It reminds us of the beloved 23rd Psalm:
“Yea, thou I walk through
the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.”
Jesus, the Savior of the World, is also called “Immanuel” which
means “God with us”. From the beginning, he entered into darkness, relieving and
comforting us in dark places. His birth came at a bleak time, more foreboding
than our own. Ruthless Caesars in Rome could force a world-wide census upon
numerous conquered peoples. There were no rights for all, but ultimately
privileges for “citizens of Rome.” Entertainment was a fatuous bloodsport of
slaves butchering each other before mindless crowds.
And yet, in a tiny manger in a forlorn stable in an
overlooked city, Christ the Savior was born. The Light of the World came into a
world that had no hope, no peace.
This Light guides the souls of millions today, and they are
not overcome by darkness:
2.
From West Hollywood to Boston, Massachusetts, evangelical
churches are sprouting up across the United States.
3.
Iranians
are converting to Christianity in unprecedented numbers, in spite of
persecution in their home country.
This Christmas, we may live in a dark world gone darker, but
the darkness does not have to overcome us. This Christmas season, ignore the
surrounding chaos and enjoy the Light, just as the Israelites in Exodus weathered
the plagues, then enjoyed divine light in their homes (Exodus 10:23). Let us
rest and receive the true reason for the season, the Light and Savior of the
World, God who became a man, the baby born to die that man could be set free
from sin and enjoy life eternally.
