And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. Genesis 1:2
And God said, Let there be light: and there was
light. Genesis 1:3
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, , there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. Matthew 2:1-2
God has all power. God is also love. Power and love operate from two entirely opposite positions.
Power operates from the position of strength. Love operates from the position of weakness. Love always gives.
How can these two natures of God be resolved?
Easy, but profound. The one is perfected by the other.
For God’s strength is perfected in weakness:
And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. II Corinthians 12:9
Or to state it another way, God’s strength is perfected through His love:
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13
The light God spoke into existence in Genesis chapter 1 radiated throughout the Old Testament and into the New Testament as recorded in the Gospel of John chapter 1:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
John 1:1, 4-9
Heaven is a power plant. Heaven is the command center of God’s eternal glory and majesty. Weakness does not and cannot reside in the eternal.
To display His love in weakness, God had to resort to another realm – the realm of the weak, the vulnerable and the broken. And His love began its journey within the womb of a virgin girl in the sleepy town of Bethlehem:
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. Luke 2:11-16
As the light was filtered and reflected within the hearts of men and women throughout time, it manifested itself in bodily form in the man Jesus Christ of Nazareth:
Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth. I John 2:8
Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. John 8:12, 9:5
The light of Genesis did not stop in the Old Testament. It continued to shine from the gospels into Revelation and then on throughout eternity:
And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.
I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.Revelation 22:5, 16
Let there be Light – the message of hope, the message of love, the message of Christmas.
