17 Dec - When the World Feels Heavy: Choosing Light This Christmas”

The last few days have felt a bit heavy. News reports on repeat every time you turn the tv on or look at social media; conversations filled with politics and the state of the world, and a quiet ache in my heart as a mum - even though my kids are teenagers and young adults now. You still feel it. You still wish they didn’t have to see or carry the weight of things that belong to a broken world. There’s a sense of innocence slipping, and it lingers with you.

But this scripture keeps on rising in my heart and mind.

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”(John 1:5)

On the night the attack happened, my husband and I had been out on a walk. Nothing unusual. Just one of those ordinary after dinner walks and talk about the day. Before heading inside, we stopped to chat with our neighbour.

We live in an area that’s predominantly Indian and Asian. Sometimes - and I say this with affection it feels like we’re living in a little pocket of Bollywood. The colours of the saris, the lights, the celebrations up and down the street, the music that’s different to what we grew up with. It’s different… but it’s good.

Our neighbours always stop to talk. During winter they gifted us a pumpkin from their garden. It was such a small thing, but it genuinely touched us. We've been trying, between us all, to catch up over a meal or a coffee and need to make it happen :)

So, there we were - standing on the footpath, chatting. Different cultures. Different faiths. Different backgrounds.

While somewhere else in our city, something awful was unfolding.

That contrast hasn’t left me.

Because while hatred was causing harm, kindness, connection, respect and conversation was happening quietly on our street.

It reminded me of something important; something which I think would be helpful for everyone to remember right now.

We don’t control what happens in the world. But we do have responsibility for how we respond to it.

Jesus said, “You are the light of the world.” Not someday. Not when things feel safer. Not when everyone agrees with us. But Now.

Being light doesn’t mean pointing fingers. It doesn’t mean adding to fear or outrage or blame. It doesn’t mean hardening our hearts or drawing lines tighter.

It looks like choosing kindness when fear would be easier. Compassion when suspicion feels justified and staying open when it would be simpler to shut down.

Christmas isn’t just about decorations, carols, or getting the right gifts. It’s about the Light , and more importantly, the One who is the light and also brings the Light.

Jesus didn’t stay distant from darkness. He stepped right into it.

And when we let Him close, when we let His love settle into our hearts, that same light doesn’t stop with us either - it flows through us.

The Bible says,“God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.”(Romans 5:5) NIV

Which means the love we’re called to show isn’t something we have to manufacture or fake. It’s something we receive first… and then allow to overflow.

And maybe that’s where our responsibility comes in. Not to fix the world, or point fingers, or retreat away from the darkness and hard things. But to let the love of Jesus fill us so deeply that it naturally spills into the spaces we inhabit.

Into how we speak, respond and treat people - especially those who might be different from us. It's in how we show up in our streets, our conversations and our homes.

This Christmas, maybe the most powerful thing we can do isn’t to have all the answers or say the right things…

Maybe it’s simply to love well and continue to be the light He asked us to be.

 ^"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." (John 1:5 NIV)

Prayer: Lord thank you that you are the light and the darkness cannot overcome.

Please fill me with Your peace and that I would receive your love afresh in my heart toda so that it would shine though in how I speak, respond, and treat others.

Please hold those who are hurting, and help me to be compassionate and kind in all I do today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.