For to us a child is born, to us a son is given… and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. – Isaiah 9:6
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Christmas is a broken string of lights for many of us. It’s there, but it doesn’t seem to do what it’s supposed to do. It’s bleak, not bright. It’s melancholy, not merry. This time of year is disappointing, discouraging and depressing for a lot of people for a lot of reasons. Bad memories. Missing loved ones. Financial burdens. Unrealized expectations. Busyness. Jealousy. Commercialism. Rude shoppers. Overshadowed birthdays. Ungrateful gift-recipients. Like the string of lights that isn’t working, there are things in our lives which are broken. We’re a broken people in a broken world where there is much that is not as it ought to be. But there is hope for us, because Jesus came for the very reason so many struggle in this season … to fix what has been fractured in us and our world, in part now and in fullness when He comes again. As we await the future and full restoration of all things, we can experience a sense of renewal in the present because of what we have received in the past: A Son who is our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. This is what makes our lives merry and bright! That Jesus is our sympathetic listener and best-advice-giver ever. That Jesus is our strong provider in every area of need and weakness. That Jesus is our caring patriarch who will never walk out on us. That Jesus is our inner peace who brings deep well-being for our troubled and tired spirits. In those moments when we find ourselves struggling, let us turn to Him and trust in Him to illuminate the darkness we are walking in, because there is no greater wisdom, no greater power, no greater care, and no greater peace in the universe than His. For even in the midst of the brokenness of this world, there shines an everlasting Light in our hearts.
