“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
John 1:5

Darkness comes in many forms. For example, we have the darkness of night, darkness invades our moods, and we consider ourselves in the dark when we lack knowledge. Darkness has a strong adversary that it cannot withstand. When we stumble in darkness, we need light. Or as the saying goes, “Things look clearer in the light of day.”

Recently, I was working with a student who was struggling to complete the assignment his teacher had given him. The subject was math. If any of you know me at all, you know that math is not my best subject. Fortunately, for me, it was 3rd grade level math. Simple adding and subtracting. This I can do! We worked together on the problems and came up with a method which he could use to solve them.

It was really amazing to watch the process unfold. When we first started working, the student was frustrated and upset because he didn’t know how to work the solution. He was in darkness. Then, as we worked together, he got excited! He was able to work the problems. You could see the “light” overcome his darkness. Before the end of the day, he was solving the equations on his own without my help!

Jesus overcame another type of darkness for us. He defeated sin and death by being the perfect sacrifice in our place. We are no longer languishing in the dark. We have the light of the world! The darkness has met its match.

Joy to the world! The LORD is come! Let earth receive her King! Let every heart prepare Him room! Let heaven and nature sing! AMEN.

Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together! Ps 34:3

Contributed by Tom Johnson