Sixteen Candles
Imagine you are sixteen years old and an angel tells you that you are going to give birth to the Savior or the world. The hopes and fears, the joy and anger would be crowding your mind, trying to find a way to make sense of what you were told. People will judge you. Some will have the legal right to take your life and others will never look at you the same way. This was Mary’s reality. She knew that all her dreams and plans had been shattered, not to mention her fiancé.
John 1:4-5
In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Darkness looses to light. A little light goes a long way. At night go into a closet with the light turned off and look around. Nothing, as far as the eye can see, even in a little closet. Light one candle and your world changes. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” Light overcomes darkness and Jesus is the light of the world. Later Mary would see her beloved child killed, but the darkness didn’t overcome the light. Jesus lives. No matter how hard darkness tries to overcome the light , it can’t succeed. “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.”
Recently, we have been reminded that what we know and expect can change in a heartbeat. A different heartbeat brought life and light to all mankind. What is God up to? What is He doing? I don’t believe He is just tolerating evil, I believe He has a plan.
Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
If you know Christ as your Lord and Savior, you have a hope that can’t be extinguished. Mary’s light was greater than the darkness of her situation and so is yours. God has great plans for you. Eternal plans that the enemy cant take away. Plans for the near future that seem impossible right now. God knows what is ahead of you and he will be with you on the journey. Our hope is not in leaders or ideas but in Christ. Our peace and joy can only be found in Jesus, the light of the world. Jesus, one light and the world changes, and the view is amazing.
