For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.

In my part of the world, December is a dark time. Days are short, nights are long. You go to work when it’s still dark, and when you return home, it’s dark again. Frankly, it’s not my favorite season… I see the dull, black clay of the farming fields, plowed for the winter, and it depresses me to realize they will be like that for several months. The barren branches of the trees shiver in the cold wind, and I shiver along.

No wonder people close their curtains early, shutting out the drab darkness and seeking comfort in the warmth of their homes. No wonder December is the season of candles and Christmas lights. People—myself included— need an antidote to the darkness that surrounds them.

To most, however, that is all that Christmas is about: a celebration of that much-desired light. The candles are nothing more than symbols of comfort in a dark, cold, and bleak time of year. Little do people realize that there’s not only darkness around them, but—much more serious— that there is darkness in their hearts.

The Apostle Paul speaks about “the light of the knowledge of God’s glory,” in 2 Corinthians 4:6. God knows that those who don’t know Him need supernatural light to expel the darkness from their hearts. When the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to that inner darkness, He also made me look to Jesus. In His face, I discovered the glory of God. With the love of Christ, I can live through December’s cold and dreary darkness. Without the love of Christ, no multitude of candles can cheer me up.

It is significant to note that our verse refers to the day God created light. He spoke, and there was light. Is not Christmas about God echoing His act of creation by sending His Son, the living Word, into this dark world to bring new life? As the created reality we live in displays God’s greatness, so does the face of Christ display the knowledge of God’s glory. His kind face kindles the light that casts the darkness out of our hearts.

May I encourage you to be a witness to that light this season? Imagine what would happen if each one of us shared that knowledge of God’s glory with at least one person—one person, whose knowledge about Christmas doesn’t exceed putting up a tree and lighting candles; one person who is not aware of the darkness in his own heart. Wouldn’t that be impactful?

God made His light shine in our hearts. Let us, in turn, shine the light of Christ to those around us!

By Anton de Vreugd, Bible League International staff, the Netherlands