A Burning Branch
A Christmas Message
A Burning Branch
“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.” Isaiah 60:1 NIV
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the Light of Life.” John 8:12
Nigerians love to tell stories, so it’s not surprising that my first Christmas memories are of my family, seated around a fire, listening to my parents talk about their past. We were not Christians then, so the tales were usually about our ancestors, and many of them were quite frightening to a young boy!
On one particular night, after the stories were particularly scary, I remember being asked to go inside our hut to get something. Because we were poor and our rural village was far from any electric power lines, there were no lights in our bungalow. And because I was already scared from the stories, I did not want to go inside. In fact, I was terrified!
Thankfully, sensing my fear, my mother broke off a branch from a candle-like shrub, lit it and handed me a light. “Here you go, Sondya,” she said. “I know you’re afraid, but you can take this light into the bungalow. Now go and do what you’ve been asked to do.” The flame from the shrub chased away the darkness. It also brought me peace, joy and hope. Light does that.
Today we have plenty of electricity, but the darkness is still very thick. In fact, at times it is so inky black that we can lose both our way and our courage. But it doesn’t have to be that way. For just as my mother handed me a burning branch to drive the darkness out of our hut, God the Father sent God the Son - the Light of the World - to brighten the sin-darkened places where we live. In fact, though the darkness can seem overwhelming, and though it has defied all previous sources of light, it cannot overcome the brightness of the King of Kings, the Emmanuel Light!
The prophet Isaiah promised as much when he wrote: “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.” When the prophet penned these words he was looking backwards to the first exodus – a time when God guided His people out of the Promised Land by asking them to follow a cloud by day and a fire by night. But more importantly he was looking forward to the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
Jesus would later fulfill Isaiah’s prophetic vision by announcing: “I am the Light of the World. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the Light of Life” (Jn. 8:12).
As always, God fulfills both His plan and His promises. He is more than able to lighten up our sin-darkened world. The real question this Advent season is whether or not we will take His light into the dark corners where we live.
Though we are many years and miles removed from my first Christmas memory, the words of my mother prophetically encompass our Father’s words: She said, “Here you go, Sondya. I know you’re afraid, but you can take this light into the bungalow. Now go and do what you’ve been asked to do.” God invites us to partner with Christ, the Light of the World, in announcing the end of the shadow of death. Do you hear this invitation afresh this Christmas season?
END NOTE
This article is reprinted by permission from “Hope For A Despairing World,” CISF (Christian International Scholarship Foundation), Lake Forest, Illinois, 2003.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Sunday Agang came to faith in Christ in 1975. He has served as a pastor and teacher in Jos, Nigeria. He is currently studying in the USA, but plans to return to Nigeria to serve the Lord in grass roots transforming initiatives. He and his wife have four children.