Light.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The world was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.

Genesis states that in the beginning, God created. In the voidness of the world, the first thing God did was speak. "Let there be light."

The first chapter of John restates the beginning of all things. John says that 'In the beginning was the Word..." We saw that in the first act of creation, God said, "Let there be light." So John acknowledges that in the beginning, God spoke. It was God's Word that created light. But John goes on about the Word...he states that that Word was God. That Word was life. That life was the light of men.

The first thing God said was "Let there be light."

One of the first things we see about Christ was that He was a Light in the darkness.

Because there is always darkness before Life.

Verse 5 in the first chapter of John says, "the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." We're so blinded by our state of darkness that we cannot even comprehend fully the idea of a True Light. We're so used to seeing conditional love that we fail to see a Real Love. We've gotten accustomed to expecting less that we stop hoping that there's more.

Jesus said, "I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness." If we follow Christ, we're no longer trapped in darkness. If we truly see Him as the Son of God - we've seen Real Love.

Imagine yourself in a cave with thirty of your closest friends. There is nothing but darkness. You happen to trip and when you fall, under your left hand is a flashlight. As soon as you realize what it is, you take the batteries out and throw them as far as you can. You then turn around and throw the flashlight as far as you can in the opposite direction. When we ignore the hungry, forget those without homes, look away from those with broken families, that is essentially what we're doing.

As Christmas fast approaches, I see all the toys that my children will be getting and I can't help but think about those children in my own community that will be getting far less, if anything, for gifts this year. As I write this, my heart is breaking. I make every effort to get my kids things that will make their childhood happier. I do it because I love them. Even though all the toys in the world could never show them how much I love them, it pleases me just to spoil them a little. I do all that I do for them because I love them unconditionally. Get ready for this...

To the mom and dad that can't afford to get their children anything but a 2 dollar gift this Christmas, my unconditional love for my children doesn't mean crap to them. It doesn't give them any light at all. Although I have an unconditional love for my kids, I've thrown the flashlight and left the needy families in the dark. If love, to me, means that I spoil my family and neglect the needy - maybe I really don't know what love is. Maybe I'm still abiding in darkness.

Everything Jesus did was for the needy. The sick needed healing. The pharisees needed humbling. The thirsty needed water. The disciples needed teaching. I needed a Savior.

What kind of love is this, that would trade heaven's throne for a cross...? A Real Love.

The Light came so that we wouldn't have to abide in darkness. So, wherever you go, whoever you meet, in whatever you're doing...'Let there be Light.'