When we are saved, we become the light of the world.   #daybydaylw   Interested in learning more about becoming a devoted follower of Christ? Go to follow.lifeword.org!   ~~~ Bearing this baby, born king of the Jews, was worth every slanderous word hurled at Mary. “Vow-breaker” “Unfaithful” “How could you do that to Joseph?” “Jezebel” There is no telling what all Mary had to endure. We know that for a while she escaped to Elizabeth’s home. But we also know that at some point she came back home because we are told she travelled with Joseph from Nazareth to Bethlehem. On top of the normal trials and struggles of being pregnant with child, did she question God’s plan? Did she ask for a way out? Did she think she was going crazy? Think of all the questions running through her mind! Should a stronger woman be doing this? A wiser one? An older one? Mary reminds us that bearing suffering, whether it be physical, relational, mental, because of your relationship to Jesus, is a burden worth carrying, for the sake of Jesus, and the eternal reward of His presence. Luke tells us that after the shepherds told her all that had happened to him, that Mary treasured those words, pondering them in her heart. Those words mean that while everyone else was talking about what the shepherds had told them and marveling over them, Mary was doing something different. She was preserving those words, keeping them from fading away, treasuring them. But also “pondering” them. It means she was putting the words together, letting those words from the shepherds talk to one another. In other words, she was putting the pieces together. “Oh I remember now, the prophet told us that messiah would be born in the Bethlehem, the City of David. That is why the census really took place. He is going to be a savior for all people. That is why the prophet told us the messiah would be a light for the Gentiles.” And on and on, she thought and pondered. And she realized, perhaps, that she was the fulfillment of the virgin prophecy in Isaiah 7. Yes, bearing the burden of suffering, for the sake of Jesus, would be, IS still, worth it. And so we light the Christ Candle. The LIGHT of his life is our light. His life is our destination. Being present with Him forever is worth the journey. HE invites people like you and me to Himself to be saved, to be rescued, to be redeemed, to be brought into His fellowship. And He alone makes every heartache, every tear that falls, worth it. How can I say all that? I can say it with confidence because we know that in the gazing upon the baby, each of these groups of people (Wise men, shepherds, Mary) saw much more than just a cozy baby with heart-warming smile. They knew him to be the Savior. They may not have known in that moment, but time would reveal to us that the way Jesus shows Himself to be the savior of all different types of people, the way God can bring peace to those with whom he is pleased, is by what Jesus does with His life. God the Son who came to earth in the flesh would go to the cross to shoulder God the Father’s fury. Fury that is for shepherds who deserve to be cast out. Fury for young girls who have been rebels against God’s word instead of servants; fury for men who went the opposite that creation points them towards. Fury for people like m, and like you. Jesus, in his pure flesh, became the substitute sacrifice for all these types of people. You see, the manger is just the beginning of his humility. The cross is the ultimate banner of His humility. That dark Bethlehem night was visited with a ray of light in the birth of Jesus. But in His resurrection, the light of His life burst forth against all darkness, declaring a loud and thunderous victory over the darkness of sin and death. It is not just the recognition of these realities that brings salvation. It is the simplicity of humble faith in these realities that brings salvation from hell, redemption and restoration to God, and wholeness to your life. And we also must understand that when we are saved, we become light of the world. Salvation is a free gift of grace, but it doesn’t come without consequence. Salvation changes a person, completely, and continually. We are to spread the LIGHT, spread the message, because He is the Hope of a lost world. HE is the LIGHT in a dark world. There is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.