“I ain’t talking to you!” the husband said to his wife. Maybe, you’ve been there. Maybe, you’re the one having said it! Maybe, you’ve tried to keep silent, but it hasn’t lasted too long. There have been people who’ve gone quiet for very long; maybe decades. John Francis gave up regular transportation for 22 years and went silent for most of 17 years! He even taught a college course without saying a word! Silence can be amazing. It can also be missed. Consider the following that took place over 2000 years ago:
The world marched in tune with everyday chores and everyday routines. Life was difficult. Barren land, fruitless soil; and for the Israelites, harsh treatment from Roman soldiers, and constant turmoil in the lives and hearts of God’s people.
No one had ever heard the term Christmas. Every day was like any other day. People went about their business and duties. But God’s presence was in the works. His ears had heard the people’s cries for a savior. He was about to do the unheard of; the unbelievable! God was about to step down from heaven to live among His creation as a created being! It was a concept people today still struggle with. Deity would take on human flesh and dwell with humanity; yet retain His glorious power.
And so, in a day like any other, the Creator became a creature and entered the world He created to become one of us! To keep away the infection of sin and the virus of imperfection in human blood, the sinless God was born through miraculous inception: the Holy Spirit entered (overshadowed) Mary, bore seed and brought forth the Savior of the world, Jesus.
Through years of darkness and insecurities, and through 400 years of silence from God, God suddenly spoke! He spoke loud and clear to a hurting world. His message of love broke through the darkness to a world that didn’t listen. The Light of The World shone but many rejected it. Darkness wasn’t only from the lack of regular light, or God’s Light; but from a world brimming with sin and oppression. It was a world absent of intimacy with God. Their cold hearts and idolatry had turned His face away. While always present, God stayed away from them. A world in turmoil needed God’s intervention. And so, the first Christmas, happened! Emmanuel came to the world: “God with us.” His love for a hurting world was the message the world needed, and still does! God is here! Read the prophesy!
“Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).
See the fulfillment! Matthew 1:23: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will all him Immanuel (which means ‘God with us’).”
Darkness cannot quench God’s Light! Never will!
Are you walking in His Light? Is your silence towards God like that of John Francis? Even he eventually spoke! But even if you don’t want to speak to God, He hears your heart! He knows you intimately! Share your thoughts with Him. “Tell” Him your heart. Allow His Light to shine on your heart this Christmas!
“The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned” (Matthew 4:16 NIV).
John 1:5 “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Merry Christmas!
Sam
Recommended Song: Christmas This Year Tobymac