One True Light – wrap up
The is a response by Stephen Nicholls to the preaching on ‘The One True Light’ and working through the Advent book of the same name by Tim Chester.
Mark began the series in December by preaching about Jesus as ‘The Word’. We learnt that the Jesus story does not have a beginning because Jesus is fully God, eternally begotten by the Father. Over the next few weeks we learnt more about ‘This One True Light’, that as well as being truly God, Jesus was truly man, that he babbled like a baby and had to go school to learn to write his name. And above all we learnt of Christ’s glory seen, not in a ‘flashy light show’ but in the perfections of His character, his holiness, steadfast love and faithfulness and in his grace.
‘Jesus is lovely on his compassion, his patience, gentleness… lovely in his anger (always for the right reasons), lovely in his justice and his love.’
As I think about all this rich theology how do I respond, how does it feed into my own life, my struggles with faith, my daily battles with sin, the mix and mess of life with all it’s joys and sorrows, it’s hardships and pleasures? It’s all wonderful truth but how does it impact and ‘land’ on my little life?
Hear is one brief personal response:
We all want glory. We all want more than just food on the table, clothes to wear and things to do. Perhaps that’s why we like to pull the stops out for Christmas with coloured lights and exotic food. Perhaps that’s why Strictly is so popular in the grey of winter because with it’s showiness and glamour it makes human beings look more glorious than they really are.
I have recently deleted the 2012 Olympic opening ceremony from my recorded videos. It seemed amazing at the time but somehow it’s lost it’s excitement and not that interesting to watch anymore. I can just remember Super Saturday when Jessica Ennis and other Brits won gold medals. It all seemed so wondrous at the time but it’s lost it’s splendour. That’s the trouble with all human glory, it eventually fades and gold turns to grey.
But the glory we have been thinking about is a glory that never fades,
We read earlier this week of Moses who, when he came down from the mountain ‘his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord’. How much more glorious must it be to have the veil removed and to see ‘the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.’ How amazing for John to be able to say ‘We have seen his glory’.
Perhaps what I need more than anything to help me through all the confusing maze of life is to see God, to catch a glimpse of his glory, to know that as a child of God I am caught up in something big, something glorious, something worth living for, something that will enable me to keep going through the grey dreary days of January after the fun of Christmas is past. A hope of one day being in heaven ‘where the glory never fades’. Just a glimpse of that glory now will keep me going.
By Stephen Nicholls