Christmas lights reveal what we have in common

Have you noticed the Christmas light this year? 

Something is happening.

I noticed, when we took a drive the other night, to look at the Christmas lights.

But, it’s not just here, it’s everywhere.

My friend, Glynn Young, noticed it in St. Louis, when he walked away from the political bantering on Facebook, and walked out into the night. It took a while, three and a half miles he walked, but somewhere out there he noticed…

In Canada, Ann Voskamp and her husband took a night drive into the fields and she wrote of it;

“The moon reflects the sun, and the Christmas-white  fields reflect the moon,

and we’re all faces shining tonight, the whole world looking up.”

Glynn walked into the chilly night. Christmas lights on every house, rich folk, poor folk, red folk, blue folk, all kinds of folk had lights on their house. And he saw…the common thread.

Before conception, before what is called, making love, 

there was real Love making, forming, shaping. 

Our origin, our essence, our main ingredient, our intricate design, fearfully and wonderfully made, comes directly from the Source of Love and Light.

We have this in common.

The Sunday School song nails it: Red, yellow, black and white we are precious in His sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world.  

We have this in common.

We took that Love and nailed it to a tree

This too, we have in common. 

...and, alas, this too, rips us asunder.

Yet, once a year, all the world, lights a tree and thinks about love. 

In whatever, shape and form and distorted fashion it may be—down inside, hiding in the shadows of a dark and lonely silent night, or, buried and busy under a heart as cold as snow—there is a common seed, a thread that runs blood red through us all. It longs for common ground and common sense; rest and peace and love. We all, every last one of us, crave what is only to be found in the warm embrace of family, in a place called home.

That place we seek is near.

That family we crave is waiting with arms wide open.

Take a walk or a drive; drop our gloves and our voices. Lift our eyes, into the night, notice how our eyes are attracted to the light. See how the light shines and pierces and chases away the dark? It does the same, no matter who or where you are.

If we will just but notice the stars, the moon, and believe it was the same moon that hung over another dark and not so silent night. How on that night the very Light that hung the moon slipped into the skin of a Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes in a manger. Think of how that Babe grew up to say things like, “I AM the Light of the world.”

Dare to believe what He went on to say: “You are the light of the world.”

Yes you.

Yes me.

Yes, we, can be light.

Not The Light, but a light.

As the moon reflects the sun…we, can reflect The Son.

It may be hard, but not complicated.

There is a light that shines on us all.

We have this in common.

Like the wise men, we need only to follow.

O star of wonder, star of night,

Star of royal beauty bright…

The wise men saw the star, and followed.

The shepherds heard the angel, and obeyed.

The chief priest and scribes read the Word and chose to ignore it.

 Harod was told about The Light and tried to snuff it out.

What will we do? Oh how I pray we’ll say,

Guide us to Thy Perfect Light.

The Babe, who put the CHRIST in Christ-mas is the very Light that shines on you now, and longs to shine through you, forever.  

We have this in common, too.