December 1 is National Christmas Lights Day in America, and every year since 1923 a Christmas tree has been set up in our nation’s capital.  The first Christmas tree lighting ceremony featured a 48-foot Balsam fir from Vermont, decorated with 2500 red, white, and green lights.  Before electric lights were invented, families would balance live candles on branches of their trees, but this led to many house fires.  Over the years, people have also been decorating with lights at other special times of the year.

 “Words from Above” in the Bible tell us that light was one of the first things to be created when God created the sun, moon, and stars, separating light from darkness. When Jesus preached His famous Sermon on the Mount, He told His disciples that He wanted them to be lights in a world of darkness.  He was suggesting that the world had become full of spiritual darkness ever since Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden and brought sin into the world. Jesus wanted His followers to shine spiritual light into the world through the examples of the lives they would live, in order to show people the way to life with God after death.

Jesus said about Himself in John 8:12, “I am the Light of the world, so he who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”   What this is saying is that Jesus as the Light of the World becomes the source of light to His followers, so that they might be spiritual lights in a world of darkness. He speaks about cities that are located on a hill, and He says that they are very visible at night. He also says that in the days when people used candles, they would put them on a candlestick in order to give as much light in the house as possible. It has been suggested that putting a candle near a mirror allows it to reflect the maximum amount of light. Jesus said that in the same way His followers should let the lights of their lives so shine before others so that the good works they do would be easily visible, and thereby glorify their heavenly Father. They were not to draw attention to themselves, but to draw attention to God as the source of their light.

One day in the future, God’s people will become residents of the City of God, which will primarily be lit by the presence of God and His Son Jesus, and supplemented by the presence of the lights of God’s people. So, let’s practice letting our lights shine for Jesus now.

Larry R. Steffee is pastor of the Center Hill Brethren In Christ Church on Miller Road in Smithville. Everyone is welcome to attend. For information, you may email lrsteffeetn@yahoo.com.

Larry R. Steffee is pastor of the Center Hill Brethren In Christ Church on Miller Road in Smithville.  Everyone is welcome to attend.  For informa-tion, you may email lrsteffeetn@yahoo.com.