Light

Light. It seems something that's scarce this month. I think this has been the darkest, gloomiest, rainiest June I have ever experienced or that I can recall in recent years. The winter was especially long and stormy and this ol' New Englander is gettin' kinda crabby as the storms keep me housebound a bit longer than usual. It's averaged maybe one day of sunshine a week for the past 4 weeks and trust me those days I've spent outside soaking up any rays of sunshine I could. It didn't matter what was on my schedule, if it was sunny, I canned the plans and sat in the sun to renew my hope that summer is just a few days away!

The Israelites lived for 400 years in spiritual darkness before Christ was born. The prophets were silenced. Their hope for a future, for the promised Messiah seemed lost. God never spoke. Not once until the appointed season when he spoke of sending the Messiah, Jesus to earth. And though Jesus was birthed according to the prophets, announced with the light from the Star of Bethlehem, proclaimed to be the light of the world, people still chose to live in the darkness of unbelief with no hope. They didn't recognize him as their promised hope.

I love how Paul describes God's gift of Jesus in his letter to Titus 3:4-7 "But when the kindness and love of God our Saviour appeared (in Jesus), he saved us...because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior so that...we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life."

When I read that today I couldn't help but picture God's tear drop as it fell from heaven in the scene of the crucifixion in Mel Gibson's, "The Passion of the Christ." It portrayed God's compassion for us and his sadness on his darkest day when he was completely separated by our sins from his only son. And yet, it was the beginning of hope for in a few days, in the light of dawn, the promise of life eternal would be revealed through his resurrection. Light would come again.

We find ourselves waiting for the Light to come again; to pierce the darkness of this stormy life. We might get crabby waiting for it but we do have hope. The Light will come again "at the appointed season", just like He promised.