Wednesday, December 7
Isaiah 24:1-13 and 1 John 1:1-2:14
Darkness is no stranger to any of us. It fills more than half of each day this time of year, and much of that occurs while our eyes are shut in the deep darkness of sleep. This is the physical darkness that is a result of God’s creation of night and day and a need for rest.
Isaiah speaks of a different darkness, the darkness one will face at the day of judgment for transgressing the laws of the Lord. This darkness will bring desolation, despair, and emptiness to the earth. Instead of physical, temporary darkness, the inhabitants of the earth will experience a spiritual darkness void of joy, song, or celebration. Sin has destroyed the earth, as Isaiah reminds us, and God’s judgment will seek out the whole Earth with no one spared.
Yet as a child of God, I am reminded that such darkness and despair have no control over me. “I want to walk as a Child of the Light…In Him there is no darkness at all, the night and the day are both alike…” (LSB 411). The words of this hymn, and the testimony of John in the selected verses from I John, are all the comfort we need in the deepest darkness of our sin. We may feel fearful and alone in our sin and despair, but there is no need because Jesus is our Light. Together, as brothers and sisters in Christ, we are to walk in fellowship with each other in the Light. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, when we acknowledge Christ as our Savior, confess we are sinners, and serve each other in love and mercy, there is no fear of darkness for any of us when the day of judgment comes. We are marked in our baptism by the Triune God and are a Child of the Light, promised eternal life by the crucified Son, the perfect Light in the darkness. For Christians, there is no darkness.
Heavenly Father, thank you for sending us Your Son to be the Light that overcomes the darkness of our sin. May we walk together in service to You and to each other until the day of Your return. In the name of Jesus, we pray, Amen.
MELISSA LAREAU
Advancement, CUW
About this series
“Advent Anticipation: the arrival of our Savior” is a sampling of biblical meditations composed by members of the CUWAA community. It is our prayer that you will take time during the Advent season to read and reflect upon God’s Word and await the coming of Jesus with newfound enthusiasm and anticipation through the Holy Spirit.