Christmas is a Sonrise

Well, it’s that time of year again. There are lights adorning houses, inside and out; neighborhoods having contests to see who has the best display, stores making big bucks when people get tired of trying to make last year’s lights work… Light is everywhere, but does it make its way into our hearts?

Let's take a moment to read the lyrics to a well-known Christmas carol, O Holy Night.

O holy night, the stars are brightly shining,

It is the night of the dear Saviour’s birth;

Long lay the world in sin and error pining,

'Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth.

A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn;

Fall on your knees, Oh hear the angel voices!

O night divine! O night when Christ was born.

O night, O holy night, O night divine.

Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming;

With glowing hearts by his cradle we stand:

So, led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,

Here come the wise men from Orient land,

The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger,

In all our trials born to be our friend;

He knows our need, To our weakness no stranger!

Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend!

Behold your King! your King! before him bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another;

His law is Love and His gospel is Peace;

Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother,

And in his name all oppression shall cease,

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful Chorus raise we;

Let all within us praise his Holy name!

Christ is the Lord, then ever! ever praise we!

His pow'r and glory, evermore proclaim!

His pow'r and glory, evermore proclaim!

Wow. These words are stunningly poetic, yet they have such depth and meaning that we may overlook sometimes. 

Recently, I’ve become slightly obsessed with the concept of sunrises. (Ok, I know the title of this blog kinda gave that away. 😂) Anyway, I love the idea that the darkest hour is just before the dawn; that no matter how dark the night gets, the sun will rise again, in brilliant and glorious colors lighting up the sky.

Let's take a moment to imagine something. Picture the night sky, dark with mysterious foreboding. Then turn your gaze on the horizon, and glimpse the gleams of light from the approaching sunrise.

This is what Christmas is all about.

What? You may be thinking. Christmas is about Jesus’ birth, not sunrises! Just bear with me for a second. 

What was that last line of verse one of O Holy Night?

“For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn”

Jesus’ birth brought light to this dark world. All through the ages past, people had been longing for the Light of the World to come. Baalam had prophesied that a Star would come out of Jacob, God had promised through Malachi that to them that fear His name the Sun of righteousness would arise with healing in His wings. Isaiah prophesied, “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.”

Jesus’ birth was a glorious sunrise to a world dark with sin. The very Light of heaven had come down to earth, and though He veiled His glory in humanity, the light that He brought would forever change us. Because that tiny baby lying in a manger was born to grow up and give His life on that old rugged cross. The darkest day was the day that broke our darkness; the day the Light of the world gave His life to save us from sin.

Jesus came to light up the shadows. He came to take away the heaviness that sin causes. He came to set us free from the chains of darkness. He came to wipe away our tears. He came to throw off the blanket of lies covering our hearts and fill us with the warmth and light of the truth. Through His death, we have abundant life. 

Sin covers us in darkness, but when we behold the cross of Calvary we see His love, and believe that He takes away our sins. Then the dawn breaks through.

“Long lay the world in sin and error pining,

'Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth.”

Maybe you’ve been wondering if you have any value. Maybe you’re trying to prove that you are worthy of love. Maybe you’re doubting if anyone could ever love you. Maybe you’ve believed the lie that you are worthless.

Dear wondering one, Jesus was born so that you would know, beyond a shadow of a doubt: you are priceless. 

One of my favorite quotes from the author Ellen White says this: “The value of a soul, who can estimate? Would you know its worth, go to Gethsemane, and there watch with Christ through those hours of anguish, when He sweat as it were great drops of blood. Look upon the Saviour uplifted on the cross. Hear that despairing cry, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” Mark 15:34. Look upon the wounded head, the pierced side, the marred feet. Remember that Christ risked all. For our redemption, heaven itself was imperiled. At the foot of the cross, remembering that for one sinner Christ would have laid down His life, you may estimate the value of a soul.”

Jesus came to shatter the lie that we are worthless by demonstrating how much He loves us. In every act of His life the light of God’s infinite love was revealed. He didn’t have to take that cross, He didn’t have to bear our sins and be crushed under their weight- but He did. He loves us that much. We never have to try to prove ourselves to Him, we don’t have to carry the weight of trying to be good enough- His love for us will never change. We are of infinite value to the One who gave His life for us.

And as the truth of His love dawns upon our hearts, it fills us with a sense of awe. 

“A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn;”

We no longer have to live for the approval of others.

We no longer have to wonder if anyone truly loves us.

We no longer have to question our worth.

“Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming;

With glowing hearts by his cradle we stand”

We can bask in the light of the manger, that points to the cross, and we can live in the sunrise of His love.

“The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger,

In all our trials born to be our friend;

He knows our need, To our weakness no stranger!”

Now that we know His love, we can trust Him. You cannot truly trust someone who doesn’t have your best interest at heart. But now that we have experienced His love, we realize that we can trust Him to get us through our trials. 

“Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend!”

We lay our hearts down at His feet, trusting Him with all that we are.

“Truly He taught us to love one another;

His law is Love and His gospel is Peace”

Now that His love is filling our hearts, it overflows out onto everyone we meet. His law of love is our principle of action.

“Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother,

And in his name all oppression shall cease”

We want to tell everyone about His chain-breaking, shadow-illuminating love, and He works through us to break the chains of many in darkness.

“Sweet hymns of joy in grateful Chorus raise we;

Let all within us praise his Holy name!”

Our hearts nearly burst with joy and gratitude to the One who lavishes His love on us, and all we want to do is praise His name!

“Christ is the Lord, then ever! ever praise we!

His pow'r and glory, evermore proclaim!

His pow'r and glory, evermore proclaim!”

His love has lit up our hearts.

Christmas is a Sonrise.