Day 11: God Gave Glory for the Nations
"Your light has come"
Jesus is the Light of the World
Words: Marg Warren Read: 0 - 5 mins Published: 11 December 2024
“Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.
2 See, darkness covers the earth
and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the Lord rises upon you
and his glory appears over you.
3 Nations will come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
4 “Lift up your eyes and look about you:
All assemble and come to you;
your sons come from afar,
and your daughters are carried on the hip.
5 Then you will look and be radiant,
your heart will throb and swell with joy;
the wealth on the seas will be brought to you,
to you the riches of the nations will come.
6 Herds of camels will cover your land,
young camels of Midian and Ephah.
And all from Sheba will come,
bearing gold and incense
and proclaiming the praise of the Lord.
7 All Kedar’s flocks will be gathered to you,
the rams of Nebaioth will serve you;
they will be accepted as offerings on my altar,
and I will adorn my glorious temple.
– Isaiah 60:1-7
In this passage, the prophet Isaiah envisions a future of radiant glory, and it points beautifully to Jesus, the light of the world. He is the one who makes this prophecy of abundance, light, and love real. Darkness is overcome and replaced with radiant light. The people are called to lift up their eyes to this light, to rise up and shine in response to God’s glory arriving in the middle of their darkness. It celebrates God’s glory shining on His people and attracting others to His light.
As we approach Christmas, this is such a powerful word to encourage us. There is no darkness that cannot be cancelled out by light. And Jesus’ birth brought the ultimate light to cancel out the darkness of the world. The impact on us is expressed in v5: “Then you will look and be radiant; your heart will throb and swell with joy.”
How can you be transformed by looking towards the light of Jesus in your everyday life, and especially as we approach Christmas? There are so many possible distractions, so many pockets of darkness in our world. But by lifting our heads and looking around us, we might see more of God’s glory reflected in our world. We might be more eager to point others towards His light. We might want to tell people about God’s glory in Jesus, and what His love has done to transform our lives. We might rejoice more, laugh more, love more deeply, be more thankful, more generous, and more grateful. We might be vessels of His light and display it irresistibly to the world.
“Lord, thank You for Your promise to bring light into a dark world through Jesus. Help us to remember the light You bring into our own lives. Help us to shine with Your light in our families, our friendships, our workplaces, and wherever we go. Help us to live in and through Your light always. Amen.”
Take a moment today to intentionally look around you for something that demonstrates God’s light in the world. And then take another moment to be God’s light in the world to someone you meet today.