The darkness of sin enveloped our souls
Only faint shadows remained of Eden’s land void of toils
Once dwelling in the light of Eden’s oasis
Now sent from the presence of the Creator’s kind graces
We stumbled along the torn path of life
Groping and feeling our way through the strife
The anger, the hate, the pride rooted deep down in all places…
Kept its tentacles reaching across all time and spaces
Born in the rebellion of old Grandfather Adam,
we prove we’re his kin with each shake of the fist,
every sharp word,
and slit of the wrist…
The people of old knew their sad state…
And longed for the day when Someone might turn all the bad into good and change their wretched fate
But darkness clouded the minds of the masses
We rejected God’s prophets and love-letter messages
We threw them aside for the will of our flesh
And fashioned our own prophets who said, “Amen! Go have fun with the rest!”
God’s people foretold One would bring light to the darkness
But we went our own way, crafting gods in the form of our likeness
In the pool of reflection we claimed our own perfection
We preached the idea we had no need for redemption
But stumble, fall, falter we must
For the darkness overwhelmed us with lust
Lust for power, position, possessions, and pleasures…
We sunk down deep in the trash of our treasures…
The trail led us down into the muck of our pride,
…the stench of our sin
…the abuse of our bodies
…the hate of our hearts
…all proving again – we’re Adam’s next-of-kin
We were hurt so we turned to hurt others
Regardless that they were our brothers
Dog-eat-dog is the way of the beast and the way of the man
So fist-over-fist we fought our way through darkest abyss
Screams in the dark and longing for light
But our pride refuses to turn to what’s right…
Would we ever see with true sight?
Then without lightning, without fanfare,
With no trumpets or any rocket’s red glare…
To the outskirts of a dusty, little settlement on the edge of town…
There was born a Baby without any human renown
His parents were poor, His mother accused,
His country was treated by the Romans like refuse…
But there over the cattle and straw and dung
God ordained for a signal star to be hung…
Light was here! Light had come!
Prisoners in the dark dungeon of sin,
Now were offered salvation full and free in Him!
His messengers proclaimed to lonely shepherds:
“The Messiah is here! The Rescuer has come!”
To the Magi of the East, God was pointing people from the star to His Son
To all those walking in darkness, they were invited to come…
Jesus the Christ born in Bethlehem…
Offers forgiveness for all your pride and hate and sin:
He is the Way that brings us to peace
He is the Truth that sets us free
He is the Life that gives us light
God came for you and me.
Most princes, kings, and religious elite…
Had no need for this Jesus born off the beaten street
But the invitation remains for you and for me
Will you come to Jesus, the Light, and begin to truly see?
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“The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them.” (Isaiah 9:2; cf. Matthew 4:14-16)
“…And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the nations, to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon and those who dwell in darkness from the prison.” (Isaiah 42:6b-7)
“Because of the tender mercy of our God, with which the Sunrise from on high will visit us, to shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” (Luke 1:78-79)
By Michael J. Breznau. all rights reserved. December 2014.
