Luke 2:9 …and the glory of the Lord shone all around them .
I saw this verse on a Christmas card that I was sending to a loved one. Like so many activities done in haste during the holiday season, I barely even noticed the scripture until I was inserting the note into its envelope. I read the scripture realizing how familiar it sounded, yet this version was set apart to me. It sounded familiar, yet distinct, because it is usually a verse spoken in a larger context, when the Christmas story is being read. The words prior to this verse describe the angel of the Lord appearing to the shepherds to tell of Jesus’s birth.
While I think most of us can imagine that the glory of the Lord must have been shining as bright as ever possible on the night of Jesus’s birth, I know I personally struggle to view the glory of the Lord shining all around me on a daily basis. Don’t get me wrong…I know God’s glory is all around us all the time, but I have a vision problem that hinders my ability to see it. Not the kind of vision problem that requires an optical prescription (although magnification readers are one of my favorite things these days), but the vision problem that comes from viewing the world with jaded, skeptical, earthly eyes.
I, like so many other women at this time of year, am wrapped up in how hectic my life seems to be. There was barely any time between Thanksgiving and December this year, and it seemed like I was behind before it ever started. There’s all the shopping, decorating, travel-planning, gift-wrapping, school activities, and social obligations that a season like this brings. There are the expectations of family members that must be considered, because as a mother, I don’t want to feel that I have dropped a single ball that would cause someone in my home to feel like Christmas was missing something that they deem essential.
As I type these words, it hits me so hard….the only thing we should deem essential in this Christmas season is remembering and celebrating the arrival of our sweet baby savior, Jesus Christ. For years, I have tried to make this the center of our season, believe me, but I have fallen short. We live in a consumer culture and we see the constant reminders in the media of what a perfect Christmas must surely look like; the trendiest decorations that probably don’t match anything I currently own, the latest recipe that is somehow plant-based, yet delicious and beautifully photographed for Instagram. Don’t even get me started on the Pinterest boards!
It’s enough to make us all very stressed out and not very full of Christmas cheer.
So I go back to the verse “and the glory of the Lord shone all around them”. Where does His glory shine? According to scripture, it shines all around us. I stop to think about what this means in a practical way to me.
His Glory shines when I see my precious family spend time together watching movies and playing games and just laughing together.
His Glory shines when I see the work of charitable organizations taking care of the “least of these”.
His Glory shines when my friends get together to work at the Angel Tree warehouse giving their time to help needy children have Christmas gifts, and pray over their gifts that those children might know the love of Christ.
His Glory shines when you are fortunate enough to spend time sharing a meal with friends during a busy time and you pause to exchange gifts and recognize the importance of those friends in your lives.
His Glory shines when you see the wreaths placed at the veterans’ headstones, allowing those who served, and those left behind, to know that we do not take our freedom, or those who protect it, for granted.
His Glory shines even when the holiday season feels heavy, as you remember those who you have loved and lost. Hope in Jesus allows peace and comfort in the darkness of those very raw emotions. He has promised that we are never alone, and in that we can see His glory. We see his Glory when, in the midst of suffering, our community surrounds us with meal trains and “go fund me” pages, and in some small practical ways, becomes the hands and feet of Christ.
The Glory of the Lord shines around me.
I needed this verse today. It reminded me to pray for God to heal my “vision problem”. I see His glory all around me, if I choose to look with the lense of gratitude. Where do you see His glory shine? I would love to know!