Christmas

Christmas

Pay close attention to what [the prophets] wrote, for their words are like a light shining in a dark place—until the day Christ appears and his brilliant light shines in your hearts.

2 Peter 1:19

When I was a child, my mom attended a women’s missionary meeting at church one night each month. Little did she know that as soon as her car was out of the driveway, we kids would beg our dad to let us play hide-and-seek. This wasn’t just any game of hide-and-seek. We liked to play with all the lights in the house turned off. We chose a night when Mom was gone because moms don’t like this game. Moms are smart! They know that walking around in darkness is difficult. Being anxious both to please us and to respect my mom’s wishes, my dad suggested that we leave one light on so we wouldn’t be completely in the dark.

Perhaps that illustration helps us better understand one of the roles of the prophets in the Old Testament. Before the birth of Jesus, things had been dark for four hundred years—but not totally dark. Peter tells us that the words of the Old Testament prophets were like a light shining in a dark place. Some of the words that shone light on the nature of Christ’s birth are found in Isaiah 7:14—“Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel—‘God is with us.’ ” Other words came from Micah 5:2—“But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village in Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel will come from you, one whose origins are from the distant past.”

The words of those prophets have been a light to past generations, but they continue to shine for us. They remind us that God has always had people in place to accomplish his purposes of bringing others the Good News of Christ.

Father of light,

Thank you that you have never left us in the dark. Thank you for the words of your prophets that continue to provide light for our faith. In the name of Jesus, amen.