Let The Light Shine On Christ

By F. D. Adkins

Last Monday, my daughter and I went into a retail store, and as we passed down the back aisle, my daughter was approached by a cell phone vendor. The words ‘new free phone’ was all she needed to hear, and she was ready to switch cell phone providers. However, when the salesperson realized that she was not eighteen, I suddenly became included in this sales pitch.

Now, I do not like change, nor do I make hasty or rash decisions in making purchases. I like to research, compare options, and check reviews. For example, our washing machine recently bit the dust, and as badly as I did not want to, I had to get a new one. Well, I guess ‘had to’ is an overstatement… but let’s just say with the amount of laundry that two teenagers go through, handwashing was a last resort. Anyway, my laundry piled up for days because I knew this was something that I would have for years, and I wanted to be happy with my purchase. It was a real struggle for me to finally make a decision.

So, as one could imagine, I was not going to sign a contract and switch cell phone providers at that moment without spending some time researching and investigating the fine print, especially when the point of my trip was to get a can of pumpkin and a package of cream cheese. But this salesman, in less than two minutes, was already asking for my driver’s license so he could write up a contract. Well, he wasn’t happy when I said that I would check into it and come back if I was interested. And quite honestly, I was a bit taken aback at the rude tone in his voice as he told me that was fine. I could just come back next year on Black Friday.

The funny thing was… it wasn’t even Friday, much less Black Friday. It was Monday.

It seems every year the Black Friday sales start earlier and earlier, and maybe it’s just me, but I feel that less and less of the focus is on the real meaning of Christmas and more and more of the focus is on the to-do list. And from that to-do list, we become stressed out, overworked, and exhausted. Then, the day after Christmas, we wonder where the Holidays went. We blinked, and it was over.

For my Bible study this morning, I was pondering on the word, “Christmas”, and how just by looking at the word, it’s pretty obvious what the holiday is centered around. But this morning, I found myself thinking about our culture and asking the question, “is it?”

I opened my Bible and read Matthew 2:1-12 about the wise men following the star which led them to Jesus. After I finished reading, I kept picturing it in my mind. This bright star appears in the sky. These men follow it until it comes to a stop right over the house where Jesus is. And in my mind, I envisioned it shining down like a spotlight on the main character on stage delivering a monologue before the audience. In the darkness, the only light was shining straight down illuminating the home of the young Christ child.

Look at Matthew 2:9-10 KJV

• “… and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.”

Now, my question is, “Where are we aiming our spotlight? What is our star shining on?” If Christ is not taking center stage in our celebration, we need to move our spotlight. We need to move it back and shine it on the birth of our Savior. He is the reason for the season, the reason for our hope, the reason for our joy, the reason we can have peace in the storm, and the reason that we can have eternal life.