A Devotion for the Third Week of Advent

The Revealing Power of Light

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light” (Isaiah 9:2)

I don’t like going to the doctor’s office.  Rarely do I leave an appointment without feeling embarrassed, ashamed, sick, faint or disappointed.  Is there anything more humbling than to sit in a cold, stale room, wearing nothing but a thin sheet and hear the doctor say, “well, Mr. Parkinson, it appears you could stand to lose a few pounds.”  And yet, I go to the doctor anyway because it’s good for me.

When I was a teenager, my doctor’s office had the brightest overhead lights.  Sitting under those lights exposed every blemish.  I was so self-conscious about the revealing power of those lights that I would spend hours before a doctor’s appointment scrubbing underneath my fingernails, cleaning behind my ears, and applying moisturizer to every patch of skin that was even remotely dry.  If I was going to sit under those bright lights, then I needed to clean up.

Advent is a season of cleaning up in preparation for the coming of Jesus, the Light of the World.  Just like those overhead lights in the doctor’s office, the light of Christ exposes every blemish within us.  And while that may sound unpleasant, it’s not a bad thing.  Only when our infirmities are exposed can they be rightly diagnosed and treated.

John the Baptist came ahead of Jesus to witness to the Light (John 1:7).  His message was simple: “Prepare the way for the Lord” – get ready for the coming of the Light!  How should we get ready?  “Repent,” John says.  Clean up your act.  “Those with two tunics should share with those who have none, and the one who has food should do the same” (Luke 3:11).

In the final days of Advent, what blemishes are in our hearts that need to be cleaned up?  What news years resolutions do we need to make to live godly lives?  What sin do we need to repent of in order to be ready to stand in the Light of Christ?