Lights Out: What do you do when a strand of lights goes out?

For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us.

—Ephesians 2:14

As soon as I entered the traffic circle, my eyes were drawn to a band of darkness that wrapped around the Chaptico Christmas tree, separating two sections of light. I was dismayed, because the mid-section of darkness prevented it from being the beautiful tree I knew it could be. I wondered why someone hadn’t fixed it.

It reminded me that as Christians we are to heed Jesus’ command to shine our light so that others may see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16). When we unite and work together, we create a beautiful Christmas tree—whole and full of light. When we do not, the world focuses on what does not fit—disagreements, gossip, backbiting, and the like.

In Apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he explains how Jesus brought peace to unite Jews and Gentiles. He broke down the wall of hostility that separated the two groups (Ephesians 2:14). He came to fix the problem.

Jesus still fixes problems today. Because of His shed blood on the cross, we can now have peace with the Father. Because He forgives, we too can forgive and have peace with each other and ourselves.

This Christmas let us do some introspection. Let us peer into the dark recesses of our heart and clear out any debris. Let us repent of what hinders our witness and extend the peace of Christ to others. Let us unite with the brethren, shining our light for the world to see.

May we join together and rise to become a holy dwelling for the Lord (Ephesians 2:21-22)—or a Christmas tree (smile).

Dear Jesus, thank You for breaking down the walls of hostility in my life and for being my peace. May I always shine my light and extend peace on earth, goodwill toward men.