KEEPING
THE LIGHTS ON

Topics: Anticipation; Christmas; Hope; Light

References: Matthew 4:16; Luke 2:32

A house near the entrance of our subdivision kept its Christmas lights burning long after the season was past. They burned through January and then into February. Finally, I became a bit caustic. “If I were too lazy to take my Christmas lights down, I think I’d at least turn them off at night,” I said.

But about the middle of March a sign outside the house explained why the lights were still on. It simply said, “Welcome home, Jimmy.” We learned the family had a son in Vietnam, and they had left their Christmas lights on in anticipation of his return.

Lights are a symbol of hope.

—Robert Russell, “Jesus Came to Be the Light,” Preaching Today Audio, no. 195