Life and Light by Diane Roberts
“The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought Light to everyone.” (John 1:4 NLT)
Back in the “olden days,” the 1960’s, when I was about 13, I received permission to sing with the adult choir at our church. They were just beginning to practice for the Christmas cantata, and I was excited to be a part of it. I was thrilled to be joining the adults (I felt so grown up!) and I loved the beautiful music. This particular year, the cantata was Love Transcending by John W. Peterson.
I enjoy music and often find myself singing along with the radio. But more than the music, I love the words. Since I discovered reading, I have been in love with words. The words of the cantata did not disappoint.
At the very beginning, it tells us why Jesus came. “Love transcending, love unending, it was love and love alone that brought Him down.” Then the song goes on referring to John chapter 1. “In the beginning was the word, the same was in the beginning, all things were made by Him and without Him was not anything made.”
The next line was the one that has stayed with me through the years. We sang, “In Him was Life and the life was the Light of men.” In the New Living Translation, John 1:4 says, “The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone.”
Many people may remember the next song, The Birthday of a King because it can be found in the 1991 Baptist Hymnal. It also focuses on light. “In the little village of Bethlehem, there lay a child one day. And the sky was bright with a holy light o’er the place where Jesus lay.”
Christmas is a time of Light amid the darkest time of the year. We decorate the outsides of our homes, the insides of our homes, and some of us even decorate our cars, but the common theme is light. When we see those lights, let’s remember that “the sky was bright with a holy Light” to celebrate the birthday of a King whose life is the Light for us all.
May His Light shine forever in our hearts.