Beastly Darkness

Tis the season to see the light. Perhaps you spend time with your family looking at the pretty lights on people's houses. You might drive around your neighborhood or to different suburbs and look at the Christmas lights on people's homes. Perhaps in the dead darkness of winter, you look up at the sky and see the stars glimmer in the night sky. Maybe the fireplace runs as you heat up your living room, or perhaps roasting chestnuts on an open fire (does anyone actually do this?).

But none of these are the kind of light I'm talking about.

Change of subject

Did you know animals, in general, see less color than humans do? Most mammals see either the same or less of color than humans. Monkeys tend to see much the same, cats and dogs only see two colors, as well as rabbits and squirrels. Humans can see all colors that light contains. We can see the whole spectrum.

That is, we can see the perceivable spectrum we have been given. Who knows, there may be more colors out there. We might say there are infinite colors.

But all those colors were seen on the rainbow God gave humanity after the flood. Noah could see all sorts of colors in this one natural wonder. Light was perceived as more vibrant, or multifaceted than perhaps he had seen before. And in that one testament of God's love, in that one promise and sign, we saw the great grace and mercy of God in its true colors. This facet of God was more vibrant and bright than ever before.

The rainbow seemed not only be a promise, but a lightshow of God's grace and mercy such as had never been seen before. We read about this lightshow in the Old testament - God's divine revelation to us all.

The brightest star in the night sky led the wise men to an even greater light. The supernatural event of angelic beings praising God in the heavens as shepherds worked in field was probably the brightest thing they had ever seen, brighter than any torch or candlestick they could have held. And it led them to the place where God revealed himself in human flesh, a person of the trinity, a human person, and his name was Jesus.

He is the Light we need to see more clearly.

Because you know what? Though animals do not see as vibrantly or maybe even as brightly as humans do, they seem to be more illuminated than mankind. No, I do not believe animals hold a higher standing than humans, considering we are made in the image of God. But consider Isaiah 5:3:

Even the animals know who masters them. All around Jesus, the animals surrounded him in the stable. Jesus says that God feeds the sparrows. They trust in God's common grace to them.

This analogy does not assume the animals have souls, nor do they have the intelligence to accept and know the Savior we can come to know. But I hope to prove a point in this poem: we are making life (especially eternal life) more complicated for ourselves than we should.

We are given this Great Light, God has shown himself in more than one way, and yet we cover our eyes and we walk in darkness. We are given the opportunity to escape darkness, and we reject it. We don't even have to hold a candlestick up, God is all the light we need, and yet we turn away. Unlike the moth who draws himself towards the light, we are repulsed by the light. Our darkness squirms and falters in the light.

While we are more valuable than the animal (for we have a soul), we don't value our lives enough to get closer to the like. We live our life in fear of the light, for truly, we clothe ourselves in darkness.

Christmas is more than the cute animals of a nativity stable, or the bows of neatly wrapped presents, or the lights on the tree. Instead, it's a baby. A baby with a plan. A baby with a plan to save all humanity. A baby to whom those who are called will flock, for they love the Light.

This Christmas, will you choose to see the Light?