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Posted by 
Dennis Smith
Dennis SmithI believe God gave us community to help us overcome the darkness in our lives through light. He gave us the opportunity to hear the truth about ourselves through the person of Jesus and the people who choose to follow him and share his teaching. The Gospels are filled with this reality.
What Is Light?
Light comes from darkness. Have you ever really thought about that reality? Without darkness there is no light. The contrast has to be there. We can do our best to never turn out the lights around us, but the darkness is still there waiting for us.
The Gospel writer John illustrates this reality in chapter 1, verses 1-5.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
The Darkness
Darkness comes in many forms in our human world. One form is guilt and shame. I don’t have to explain to anyone over the age of two how these manifest themselves in our life. We have all felt them in one way or another. Likely, we have felt them in some form over the past hour or day. The truth about guilt and shame is that they create a dark place in our lives and without the truth that dark place will overcome us.
I am not saying you have to believe or be a follower of Jesus to affect change in this broken world. But, I would challenge you to think about the source of the light you share. It has to have a source.
Be Light
Here in northern Wisconsin Christmas comes during the darkest time of the year. We desperately need something to combat it. Let’s think about being light in this dark time. Are we going to share hope or doom? I believe you and I have a role to play in keeping the darkness from overcoming our families and communities now and throughout the year. I challenge you to be a light in this dark season by sharing something good with someone, out of gratitude, from your heart.
