(Excerpt from Cheryl Gnagey's Advent Devotional, "Jesus, Light
of the World," for preparing to light the third Advent Candle, the
Good News candle.)
2 Samuel 22: 28-29
“As we prepare this week for the lighting of the third Advent Candle,
we will focus on its meaning. It is called the Good News candle, and
it is the only one that is pink, reminding us of the awful price Christ
paid for our sins. Its color symbolizes the blood that He shed, not
only for us, but in place of us. It points us to the good news of
salvation that can is found in Christ alone, for He is the only way.
He is our Light and salvation (Psalm 27: 1). We begin today by looking
at two verses that tie our affliction (darkness) to the Light of Jesus
for the very purpose of salvation, the good news for us all.
Last week we studied in depth how the Light comes into our darkness
in many specific ways. We saw our own spiritual affliction as
darkness. We have come to understand how the light of Jesus affects the
darkness of our souls, pushing it out of us and away from us. Jesus
Himself is our lamp, and He illuminates the darkness that can be found
in the depths and crevasses of our hearts.
Consider now the darkness of a room on an evening in mid-winter, when
an ice storm has downed nearby power lines and left you without
electricity. You move quickly to find a flashlight or some candles and a
lighter or matches, don’t you? You do this because it is difficult to
function in the dark. But what happens as soon as the ‘lamp’ is lit?
It illuminates the darkness, and while the bit of light may not make
everything quite clear, what you can see is certainly better lit than
what you could see in the dark. Even the smallest candle with a tiny
flicker can help you to see where your furniture is so that you don’t
trip and fall over it!
Jesus is your lamp. He is the very light that illuminates your
darkened heart. Your darkness and sin are what afflict you. They are
what keep you from an intimate and deeply personal relationship with the
Light. God would never be satisfied with His children remaining in the
darkness of their own sin and flesh. So He had to meet that need.
Simply stated, He sent Jesus, the Light of the world. But Jesus was not
sent merely to show you that you have things in your life that He considers darkness; He came to save
you from what those very sins and what the enemy uses to afflict you.
What better ‘good news’ could there ever be? The God who loved us in
the midst of our darkness always had a plan to save us from that very
darkness!
Jesus left the light of Heaven to enter into our world and become
your light. He came so that you might believe that He is the Light and
the only One who could save you from your darkness and sin. He came for
you! He is the only light that you need! Have you allowed Him to
continue to shine His light into the dark corners of your heart? Ask
Him to search you and show you today’s darkness. Confess to Him what
His light reveals to you. Then rejoice in His light! Staying in His
light will keep you from stumbling over the sin in your life!”
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