The Dawning of the Greatest Light

“The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” Matthew 4:16

The Dawning of the Greatest Light

In the beginning

was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.*

In the beginning

God: Father, Son, Spirit, three in One.

In the beginning,

God created the heavens and the earth.*

In the beginning,

the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep. It could be translated, “the earth became formless and empty.”*

And the first words we see He spoke were these, “Let there be light,” and there was light.*

Through the Word all things were made; without the Word nothing was made that has been made.*

In the Word was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood (or overcome) it.*

Along came a serpent who tried to obliterate the light of men, by tempting them to sin. They succumbed to temptation and the earth was a darker place.

Adam and Eve had two sons, bringing forth darkness and death, and right away one killed the other.

The population grew and so did the darkness, so much so, that God sent a flood to wash it away. But even though Noah was chosen for such a task of recreating, He still got drunk, and one of his sons forgot to cover him up. One of his sons grew the mortal enemies of Israel and their population became great, the darkness ever growing and widening.

Then there was Abraham, whom God promised, “Look up at the heavens and count the stars – if indeed you can count them. So shall your offspring be.”* Future light-bearers in the night.

Then Abraham begets Isaac, and Isaac begets Jacob, and Jacob sees a stairway to heaven. He changes the name of the place from Luz to Bethel. From “almond tree” to “house of God.” Out of a tree comes the house of God.

Jacob has Joseph, and all the Israelites grow and live in Egypt. That generation passes away and falls under Pharaoh. Floating along a river is a baby named Moses, and as a man, he sees a burning bush. The burning bush, another great light, speaks to Him and tells him what to do to save His people.

There are plagues: blood, frogs, gnats, flies, livestock, boils, hail, locusts, darkness, death. The worse of the plagues were physical darkness, no sun to light the day, and spiritual darkness, death to all firstborn sons. Life is the light of men so death is the light snuffed out.

And on and on the story goes, little lights, Abraham stars, casting shadows of the Greatest Light: the True Light.

Until one night, a special star arises in the sky, calling attention to the birth of a babe amongst the animals.

“The weary world waits and anticipates, but mostly it just simply suffocates, drowning from life lived in bloodshot centuries of drunken contortion, demonized distortion, debauchery of global proportion. When . . . FINALLY. From the darkness of a virgin’s vagina, there came a big and bursting Light.” – Erika Morrison

When this light comes bursting forth from a virgin, birth can begin again. Instead of darkness and death, rebirth brings light and life.

Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.*

So we see in the agony of birth is a new promise to deliver children of light, stars in the night sky. We, us Abraham stars, are descendents of the virgin’s Light.

For the Greatest Light said, “I am the Light of the World. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”*

In the resurrection, this Light crucifies death, nails it to a cross so that from a tree the House of God is born – again.

Though Satan tries at times to imitate this the most greatest light, he cannot. He might be a morning star, but never the Morning Star.

God has always set a light in the midst of the darkness. Until He comes again, sin still exists, and the world is still dark, but because of Him, it is brighter, and His descendents shine His light in the dreary places of the world.

He is the Bright and Morning Star – a star so bright that it shines in the midst of the dawning of a new day. His people, we do that – only a glimmer, a shadow of the One to come.

A day is coming when He will come again. Until then, we wait for the second dawning of the Greatest Light when all darkness ends.

 *****

If you are struggling feeling lost in the dark, I guarantee He has a light on for you somewhere. Praying you and I, we have eyes to see and accept the light on those dark days. This Christmas, whether through the lighting of the advent candles or when looking at the lights on decorated homes, let them be markers of the True Light, the hope of the world.

*I didn’t want the Scripture references to take away from the flow of this piece. However, here are the references listed in the order in which they were used.

• John 1:1-2
• Genesis 1:1
• Genesis 1:2
• Genesis 1:3
• John 1:3
• John 1:4-5
• Genesis 15:5
• John 3:19-21
• John 8:12

This post is one is a series of pieces written for Advent. To see the other titles in the series, click the icon below:

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