Let there be light

Genesis 1:1-5

Genesis 1:1–5 “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.”

Tonight on Christmas Eve, we are celebrating the moment the light of the world broke into the darkness, when Jesus stepped into our world to rescue us. But the story of light invading the darkness didn’t start in Bethlehem but all the way back in Genesis. This is where the very first words that God speaks over the universe are, “Let there be light”

Before anything was formed, before anything made sense, God spoke light into the chaos.

Maybe that is where we are at right now, maybe we are still in that chaos, fighting in the shadows, still trying to believe that there is a light that can break in for us. Addiction has a way of convincing us that darkness has the final word. As if you are locked in a room and you don’t have any way of getting out. Every time you push against the door, nothing moves, and every time you promise to yourself, “This is the time I get out” something pulls you back in.

Let me show you something:

A key isn’t loud, its not impressive by any standards, honestly it is about as impressive as holding a cold tater tot, but the key has the power to open what you cannot.

You may not have the strength to break down the door of addiction by yourself. You may not know how to rewrite your story. But you don’t have to, Jesus came to be the key, humbly, to do what human strength cannot, not just for a future hope, but hope in our present moment, peace in our present moment, and light.

Genesis shows us, through the very first words God spoke over the universe, darkness doesn’t win. Light does. And the same God who spoke light into the world, speaks light into your life.

Here is the beautiful thing, darkness didn’t get a vote

You may be in a spot where you believe that you are too far gone, that you have no hope, too broken, too messed up, but the story of Christmas says the same thing that Genesis does: your darkness isn’t stronger than God’s light

In fact, the entire Bible is full of people who thought that their story was over, but God had not yet put the pen down on their story. Esther is one of them. She did not come from power or strength. She did not feel qualified, she wasn’t ready, her life wasn’t neat, tidy, or put together. But God placed her exactly in the right moment that he had for her

Esther 4:14 “For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?””

She was made for a time such as this, and so are you. Maybe tonight you don’t feel strong, but the Christmas story is that God steps into weak places, ordinary stories, into broken and messed up hearts.

In Genesis, God speaks light into darkness

In Esther, God brings courage into fear

And on Christmas, God brings himself into our brokenness

So tonight hear this:

You are not locked out of freedom

You are not locked out of hope

You are not locked out of God’s love

The door may be heavy, but the key has already been placed in the lock, Jesus has turned it, and light is breaking through the crack

Genesis reminds us that darkness doesn’t get the final word

Esther reminds us that God is using the most unlikely, broken people in the most impossible moments

Christmas reminds us that the rescuer has arrived

Tonight Jesus is holding out the key

Not because you earned it

Not because of your strength

But because he loves you

Let there be light

Let the door open

Let hope in once more