by Victoria Heinecke

One small light can shine so brightly.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

“And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.”
Genesis 1:3 English Standard Version (ESV)

Consider what that must have looked like, the moment light was created. Imagine a blaze of blinding light, instantly ripping the darkness with its radiance.

God created the light with a word.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God …The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.”
John 1:1-2,9 ESV

Consider the Word made flesh, “the true light which gives light to everyone.” It came as a baby, instantly ripping the darkness with his innocence.

Although no one knows the precise date of Jesus’ birth, I think it’s no accident that God inspired the celebration of his Son’s birth to be observed, in the northern hemisphere, on the darkest days of the year.

“In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
John 1:4-5 ESV

Consider the candle. It gives a small light, drawing its energy from the wax surrounding its wick. Its light cannot be made less bright by throwing more darkness on it, and the light given by many candles is impossible to ignore. The candle is changed each time it burns.

As a new calendar year is beginning, be a light.

Be a light that shines the love of God, wherever you are in your life’s journey – the love, which is made manifest in the gift of his Son, the baby in the manger, who became our sin when he was nailed to the cross, whose eternal light saves us from the darkness.

Be a light among many lights, a light that sings “God Loves Me Dearly”:

God loves me dearly,
Grants me salvation,
God loves me dearly,
Loves even me,

Therefore I’ll say it again,
God loves me dearly,
God loves me dearly,
Loves even me.

God loves you, so very dearly.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado