|
If the early Christian Jews hadn’t shone forth the light of the Savior to the Gentile world, and if the early Christian Gentiles hadn’t shone forth the light of the Savior to still other Gentiles down through the ages, until it finally dawned on us in our day, then it wouldn’t have made a difference whether or not Jesus had been born.
"Arise, Shine!" says Isaiah to all believers of all times and of all places: to the believers of his time who were looking forward to the coming of the Savior; to the believers of Christ's time who were looking at the fulfillment of God's promises; and to the believers of our time, who are looking back at the fulfillment of those promises.
But why? Why arise? Why shine? Simply because “your Light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.” There is a reason for believers to arise and shine: our Light is here. The Lord's glory has risen on us. The picture Isaiah uses compares the revelation of the Savior and His glory to the rising sun.
So the Light has come. So what? What’s that all about? Is it really that important? Is it really that necessary? Natural man answers, “I'll provide my own light.” And that’s to be expected. That’s the voice inside each of us from birth on. We want to fend for ourselves. The problem is that if man is to appreciate the news that the glory of the Lord has appeared in Jesus Christ, he first must admit something that he doesn’t want to admit, namely, that he can’t get there from here. He can’t do it himself. He can’t provide his own light: "For, behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples." How hard it is for natural man to admit this gloomy fact about himself: that he is in the dark, not knowing God, stumbling and groping around to find direction and to discover some ray of light. Though man doesn’t want to admit it, the fact is that “darkness is covering the earth, and thick darkness the peoples.”
With those words, our first thoughts immediately go out to the Christless peoples of Asia or Africa. And we are right in seeing the darkness in those lands so many miles away from here. Sadly, we don’t have to go to the ends of the earth to see the darkness covering people. The thick darkness shrouds our own country as well. We don’t have to look very far. Just look around you in our own community. How many cars remain in their driveways on Sunday mornings? How many choose to worship at the Church of the Holy Mattress? Now, look a little deeper. We can’t miss seeing the hatred, the anxiety, the terror, the crime, the vice, the corruption, the bloodshed, and the violence of our society. We can’t miss the fact that society is sick with sin, that it is dying.
Think how the darkness sends people to a hopeless grasping at straws. Think of the Christless religions prevalent in our country growing at phenomenal rates: the Mormons, the Muslime, the Jehovah's Witnesses, and the Christian Scientists. People flock to them looking for light and find only deeper darkness.
And think of the darkness within the visible Christian church in our society. Think of how a message of man and his ‘love’ is more and more replacing the Gospel message of Christ and His love. That just compounds the darkness by placing man’s feelings toward Christ at the center of religion instead of faith in the facts of the Gospel message of Christ. Think of the popular form of the 'Christian' religion held by so many, which preaches a social Gospel and which emphasizes what man does. It suggests that all that is necessary is that you pay due respect to God, that you believe in God (meaning that you aren't an atheist), that you attend the church of your choice and support it and work actively in it; that then you are walking in the light and are helping to bring some light into the darkness covering the earth. The whole situation reminds one of the words of Matthew: "When Jesus saw the crowds He had compassion for them, because they were harassed and milling around like sheep without a shepherd."
Aren't Jesus' words so true? Look at all the people, milling around, not knowing who they are, what life is all about, where they came from, why they are here, and where they’re going! And look at how harassed they are by would-be shepherds with no light to offer! And how do we react?
Sadly, all too often, we just sit silently, basking pleasantly in the rays of the Sun of righteousness, content to be healed and cleansed of our sins, happy to have the Light, and not really doing anything about those milling around in the darkness. ‘Why don't they do something about it?’ we ask. That ubiquitous, nebulous ‘they’! Who are the ‘they?’
Isaiah's words are not addressed to ‘them’, the people outside the Church or even the other people inside the Church. We know that, but we still try to pass the buck: ‘Why don't our church leaders, why don't our pastors do something about it? That's what they're there for.’ The problem is that Isaiah's words aren’t addressed to ‘them’ – the other people inside the Church. “But the Lord will arise upon YOU and His glory will be seen upon YOU. And the Gentiles shall come to YOUR light, and kings to the brightness of YOUR rising. Lift up YOUR eyes round about, and see. They all gather together; they come to YOU.” Where is Isaiah's emphasis? We can’t miss it. YOU! ‘On YOU the Lord will rise. On YOU His glory will be seen. To YOUR light nations (unbelievers) shall come. The Lord will glorify Himself by reflecting His glory from YOU.’ What a privilege! What a responsibility!
Let people know you're not in the dark, Saints, that you’re basking in the Light, the Light of the Good News of Jesus. Let them know you’ve been cleansed and healed. Let them know God's forgiving righteousness covers you and is there to cover them, too. That’s what it’s all about. That's why you're here on this planet. That’s what God wants us to do in 2025 -- spread the light, share the light, and let our light shine on a world benighted by sin.
Dear Saints, the Light is on, and God is home. He has come into our hearts, lit them up, and warmed them up with the Light of the Gospel. He has shown us the Way to heaven in Jesus. In response we must let His light shine through us to others. "ARISE! SHINE! YOUR LIGHT IS COME, AND THE GLORY OF THE LORD IS RISEN ON YOU. " Amen.
| 
