When I was a boy, my dad would load up me and my younger brother in his Ford pickup on cold December evenings and we would go duck hunting in the swamps, sloughs and muddy bayous of Pace Bottom. It was only a few miles from my North Louisiana home, but to me, it was the wildest place on the planet. Pace Bottom was thousands of acres of unspoiled wilderness, ripe with stories of panthers, trophy Whitetail deer and enough ducks flying overhead to block out the winter sun.
My dad would walk us a few miles into these backwaters and position us next to a Cypress tree with my 20-gauge single shot. I was more of a duck terrorist than an assassin. Mostly, I fired at ducks that were flying by at Mach speeds and rarely did I touch even a feather. Once the sun went down, my dad would come back to me and whistle, signaling the end of our hunt.
My brother and I would fall into line behind my dad for the long, cold walk back to civilization. My dad had hunted these lands since he was a boy, so he knew the logging roads and pig trails, but invariably, we would wander off the path, finding ourselves lost. For some reason, we always had just the one flashlight that my dad carried. We would inch our way through the brush thickets as young boys, trying to stay as close as possible, because he was the only one who knew the way home.
If we followed too closely, my dad would forget we were right behind him and he would let go of the small branches. The tiny limbs were like iced barbed wire strands and would snap back, whacking us across the face and neck. If we lingered too far behind, we could not see the path in front of us and we would stumble in the night. My dad had the only light and he was the only one who knew the way home.
Isaiah 9:2 NIV
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the son of Joseph and Mary, the world looked a lot like the Pace Bottom of my boyhood. Israel was cold and dark, and danger was everywhere. There was no light to lead the people home. Maybe it was God’s intention all along to provide only one light, hoping we would stay close to him and not wander too far away. He never promised us a pain free journey or a world where we would not stumble. He did promise to lead us though, if we would walk right behind him.
Psalm 119:105 NIV
“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my path.”
Jewish people knew this passage well. It had been their song, their want and their hope for a thousand years. In fact, John opens his Gospel story describing Jesus as the Word, becoming flesh.
John 1:1, 5 NIV
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
In this season of Christmas, let’s decide to follow Jesus more closely, to find our way home from the light he has provided. We live in a dangerous world that can easily cause us to stumble. His light is enough, and His light is for us. Jesus is the only one who knows the way home.