2. A Stark Contrast
The darkness of his country’s racist government and culture not only didn’t overwhelm
Mandela’s passion for justice; it only seemed to make it shine even brighter.
3. But where the contrast isn’t as
obvious, even the Brightest of
Lights will seem less bright than
it actually is.
4. Matthew 4:16 The people living in darkness have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.”
5. Luke1:67 His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
68 “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
69 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David
70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
71 salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us—
72 to show mercy to our ancestors
and to remember his holy covenant,
73
the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
and to enable us to serve him without fear
75
in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
6. Jewish people enjoyed many aspects of
their lives.
But they knew that the Lord had yet to
fulfill all his promises to them.
They longed for a Messiah to bring
light into their dark existence.
8. We frequently fail to appreciate the Gift of Life
and Light that Jesus is because…
We habitually avoid facing and embracing:
our DARK areas
our EMPTY parts
our MORTAL selves
John 12:46 I have come into the world as a light,
so that no one who believes in me should stay in
darkness.
10. While Jesus calls us out of darkness, there are still
areas in our lives that are dark and empty.
By surrendering to the fact that we all have dark,
unfillable voids, we open ourselves again and again
to Jesus—the Light of the world—entering into our
lives through these empty spaces.
The Indescribable Gift from Heaven
