Before I retired, I routinely scheduled a week of vacation immediately after Christmas. That was the case in 2015. Cheryl and I went to have Christmas dinner with our daughter and her husband in the Metroplex. He grilled some steaks and the unseasonably warm weather allowed us to enjoy that meal on their patio! Then we headed out to west Texas to visit my wife’s parents and siblings. And it came to pass that while we were there, winter storm Goliath made his presence felt. As we were driving, we watched the temperature fall 30 degrees in 30 minutes, and it kept going. We were not in a place that had large accumulations of ice and snow, but we did have sufficient ice that we were without power for a day and a half. Battery operated candles, a wood burning stove and a small generator enabled us to get by, but it sure was a relief when the power was finally restored. I am always grateful for those who go to work under adverse conditions to make the necessary repairs to restore power.

Sitting in the dark gives you time to think. And because we were in the Christmas season when that blackout occurred, I was reminded of the passage read in many churches the previous week from Isaiah:

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. Isaiah 9:2 

The relief we felt when the power came back on at my in-laws house was nothing compared to the joy of having God’s light shine into the darkness of this world caused by our sin.

The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. John 1:9 

That is the Good News we are still celebrating this Christmas, the arrival of that true light. For those of us who have been led to faith, that is GREAT news. Jesus Christ came to us as one of us to pay our penalty for sin so that we would not have to do so ourselves. The light of the world.

The sad thing is that there are way too many in the world who are still sitting in the darkness. They don’t know about Jesus. They have not seen the light. How can we help them?

The answer is not complicated. Let them see the light in you. Shine it through your words, your actions, you daily existence.

That storm Goliath gave us an excellent opportunity to let our light shine. While it was a terrible and devastating storm, the followers of Jesus responded by letting our light shine. The tornadoes to our South and East caused extensive damage, and after we returned home, we were able to show God’s Love through disaster response efforts on the East side of the DFW Metroplex.

That is a way I can share the love of Jesus with those who are hurting and in need. You can do the same. The opportunities are all around you.

May the God who sent His light into this world richly bless you all in the New Year! Merry eighth day of Christmas.