What light has God sent you during this season? Beth reminds us to look for His sign of hope.
“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem … Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the One who has been born king of the Jews? We saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him” (Matthew 2:1-2).
I love gazing at the stars. I recall one such time when we were visiting friends in the country. The air was crisp and the snow sparkling white. Away from city smog and city lights, the stars shone with special brilliance.
As I stood there looking up, it seemed as if those points of light were close enough to touch. A sense of awe swept over me as I thought of their all-powerful Creator. But what about the most important star in history–the one that led the wise men to the cradle of the King.
We’re not told a lot about it except that it appeared “in the east”–literally, “in its rising.” It is the same Greek expression Zacharias used to say of the approaching birth of Mary’s Child, “The rising sun [the Dawn] will come to us from heaven” (Luke 1:78).
His words seem to echo Malachi’s prophecy, “the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings” (Malachi 4:2).
Where does light glow the brightest? Isn’t it in the darkest places? And don’t those of us with chronic pain and illness often feel like we are there? But the Lord Jesus came as “the light of the world” (John 8:12), a blessed Dawn in the place of sin, suffering and spiritual night.
Today, as we trust in Him, we’ll find He can shed the light of new optimism in our lives. As we ponder the wonder of Jesus’ birth may we see it as the dawning of eternal light. Faith in Him not only brings eternal life, but new assurance for today.
About the Author:
Beth Cottrill lives in a small town in rural Saskatchewan, Canada, with her retired pastor/teacher husband, Bob, an avid football fan. She finds living with Attention Deficit Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, depression, osteo-arthritis and a stroke of several years ago a challenge, but also training for a ministry to others. She loves animals, music, scrap booking, making cards and, last but not least, being a grandma.
