Christmas 2025: THE LIGHT THAT SHINES THROUGH US
Christmas glows with a thousand small lights—twinkling strands draped across rooftops, candles flickering in windows, gentle colors blinking in the December night.
And into this world of shadows and sparkle, Jesus steps forward and says, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12); “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it” (John 1:5).
Those words, echoing through John chapter 1, settle into our souls like a promise made for winter: the Light has come, and He refuses to leave us in our darkness. Just as a house decorated for Christmas shines not only for those inside but for the whole neighborhood, so the brilliance of Christ’s life is not meant to stay hidden behind the walls of the heart.
The truth is simple: lights inside the home bless the family, but lights in the windows and the yard bless the world.
And the same is true of Christ in us. His presence warms the secret places within—our fears, our doubts, our weary corners—but His light is also meant to spill outward, to rest upon our faces, to soften our speech, to brighten our demeanor, to color the atmosphere around us with hope (Matthew 5:14–16).
The incarnation—God becoming flesh and dwelling among us (John 1:14)—is the ultimate outward-facing light, the ultimate declaration that God does not hide His glory but shines it where broken people can see it.
This is the wonder of Christmas: the true Light came near so that we might draw near to Him; the eternal Word stepped into our night so that His radiance might reflect from our lives like sunlight shaping a shadow.
If we walk close enough to Him, His light will define the outline of our days—step by step, word by word, glance by glance—until others begin to notice a quiet glow we could never generate ourselves.
The goal is not to draw attention to our brightness, but to let every shimmer point back to the One who “gives light to every man” (John 1:9). For when Christ fills the heart, He inevitably shines through the countenance.
So this Christmas, let the Light of the world decorate your life. Let Him string His grace across your thoughts, place His hope in your smile, and hang His peace like ornaments on your words.
Keep your windows open.
Step into the yard.
Show the neighborhood what it looks like when the Light has truly come.
Lord Jesus, Light of the world, shine in me and shine through me. Fill my heart with Your brightness and let that radiance spill into my words, my actions, and my face. May others see not me, but You—glorious, gentle, and full of grace. Amen.
BDD
