The Vicar Writes…..
Dear friends,
The nights are growing longer, darker and colder. The weather forecasters have been telling us that this winter will be a hard one. So turn the light on, sit down by the fire and lets fix our imagination on the Light of Christ shining out in the darkness of the world.
The world is still just as dark as it was in the time of the first Christmas. We still have ruthless tyrants like Herod; we still have poverty. We also have terrorism and gun crime and people killing themselves with drugs or alcohol. It is very dark and we need light.
The Wisemen were looking for Starlight. Maybe they had only a hazy idea of what they were seeking. There must be more to life, a quality that was missing from their lives; and so they left the comfort and stability of their home surroundings to set out on a quest. They were drawn, though at the time they did not fully understand this, not just by the light of the Star of Bethlehem, but by the Light of Christ.
Christ still draws people to Himself. Something within us longs to come into the Light of His Presence. Often we are aware of that it may cost us much to seek this light, and to keep on seeking it. We can feel unable to pay that sort of price: the loss of security, stability and comfort; and to go on paying that price. It is tempting to stop on the way. But whenever we step out towards His light we find it is into a deeper security, a more enduring stability, and a comfort that comes from the sure knowledge that we are being held by the Love of God. It is the Love of God that always draws us on, further and deeper, that unsettles us when we grow too comfortable – for in the end we must discover our true comfort in Jesus alone.
With every blessing for Christmas and the New Year – Follow His Light.
Ron Elverson