Shining Our Light in a Dark World 

How is it December already?! Well, it's time for the last blog of 2024, where Sammy shines a spotlight on light and darkness, and reflects on how we can shine our light in a dark world...

Are you scared of the dark? Many of us are as children, going to bed with night lights or bedroom doors ajar so the light from the landing can break through.

What about now? This is the time of year when I’m uncomfortable walking alone in the dark and feel more conscious if I’m home alone at night. I wonder why we are scared of the dark. I wonder if it’s because we don’t know what we can’t see. Things can hide in the dark.

Okay, so James P. Sullivan from Monsters Inc., who's job is to scare children in the dark of their bedroom, and collect their screams, maybe a fictional character, but the storyline revealed that in actual fact, the monsters weren't all that scary, especially in the light of the day! The ancient world contrasted light and dark. Light was good; knowledge; including of God… whereas dark was bad; ignorance; and of the world. I haven’t questioned this until recently but the more I engage with black history and culture, the more uneasy I am about making such a clear distinction. Whilst the dark can be scary because of what we can’t see, it can also reveal things that are obscured by daylight. Think about the beauty of a starry sky or full moon that we would miss if it wasn’t for the dark. I’m also conscious that after God separated the earth and heavens, the first thing he made was light – the sun and the moon. Separating light from dark was seen as a good thing; but the dark does bring rhythm to our day…it gives us an opportunity to rest.



The world feels like a very dark place at the moment. It’s winter so we live with more darkness, but this is amplified by the pain and turbulence that confronts us when we hear the news or listen to the worries of our neighbours and friends. But let’s hold this in tension, acknowledging that dark is not bad in itself, it’s just what lurks there hidden, obscured and needing to be revealed. While for many of us darkness can be linked with fear, so light can turn our thoughts towards hope. Think about how our spirits lift as soon as the days begin to get longer again and we know that Spring is on the horizon.

This Christmas, I wonder if people are longing for light and hope to break through. Is this the message we can offer as Christians?



Speaking of messages, I’m reminded that 800 years before Jesus’ birth, the prophet Isaiah announced a message from God;

‘The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.’ (Isaiah 9:2)

Isn’t it interesting that Isaiah writes these verses in the past tense; so sure and certain is he that a light will come into the world. That’s faith. Just think about it for a minute, 800 years before Jesus was born, 800+ years before Jesus announced that he was and is the light of the world… Isaiah saw and accepted it. Wow! So surely, it’s easier for us (who with hindsight can look back on the birth of Jesus and are now waiting for him to come again), to put Jesus, the light of the world, under the spotlight this Christmas.

The world is looking for light; many people are walking in darkness. This Christmas will be hard for some, with the cost-of-living crisis, mounting mortgage costs, hospital waiting lists and mental health issues looming large at home, before we even look further afield to wars in Ukraine and Israel. Increasingly we are being told that people are again beginning to look for something ‘other’. Other to the temporal, imminent frame we live in, where science and education are supposed to explain and rationalise everything (but perhaps are beginning to be found wanting). Some look for this ‘other’ in the wrong places, for example, in the way they dress, their values and beliefs, their relationships, their identity. The truth is, we all need the one and only ‘other’ that will fix us and our broken world. We all need Jesus, the light of the world, who can overcome the darkness and be with us, helping us in all the hardships life throws.

So, let’s point people to the ‘other’ this Christmas, to the light in the darkness, the baby in the manger who grew into the man who loved the broken world so much that he died and came back to life to fix it.

This is what many churches and Christians will be doing over the weekend of 13-15 December. As part of the ‘Shine Your Light’ campaign, Christians are being urged to take Christmas events, carols and nativities outside the building and into our communities. The aim is to mobilise 100,000 Christians to reach 1,000,000 of our non-Christian friends.  



What’s more, the many Christian organisations involved in ‘Shine Your Light’ have made it easy for us, with resources to download or buy; everything from invitations, posters and banners… to fully planned, accessible programmes  and follow up resources! And here at Hope Together, we have contributed a fun, short story about a lamppost called Luna, who loves it when people sing carols under her light, but wants to know what they're all about! It's completely free to download and use, so have fun with it! 

Jesus said that he is the light of the world (John 8:12) but he also said that we are the light of the world (Matt 5:14). So please join us and shine your light by sharing the Christmas story, the baby in the manger, the Good News with our communities this December.

Here at Hope Together and Hope for Every Home, we want everyone everywhere to know Jesus, to encounter his light in the darkness. We want this light to shine on every street and in every home; and we have lots of resources to help you. Christmas cards, Christmas magazines, the Lego Christmas Story Trail and our Gift of Christmas gift book to name a few 'Christmassy' things (not to mention some free downloadable Christmas resources too)! It really couldn’t be easier to shine the spotlight on Jesus to those around us this festive season!



So, as we enter what can often be the busiest time of year, let’s pause, and let Jesus, the Light of the world, shine on us. My hope and prayer for you this Christmas is that this little light of yours will shine bright for all to see. And little embers will catch fire in those around you, so much so, that people across our country and beyond will be fanning into flames a passion for Jesus.

May our Light of the World, bless you and keep you; may he make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; may he lift up his countenance upon you, and give you and those around you peace this Christmas.