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Plugging into the Season





This child now weak in infancy
Our confidence and joy shall be.
The power of Satan breaking.
Our peace eternal making.

—Break Forth, O, Beauteous Heavenly Light

He may have entered the world as a fragile baby, but Jesus had within Him His Father's awesome power. For those who make the Christian journey, we can know that same power—the power of Christ, working within us.



Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me. "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing...."

—John 15: 4 & 5

When Jesus shared this teaching, He was speaking to groups who understood about agricultural concerns. Today, speaking to commercialized holiday shoppers, His analogy might read something like this:



Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. No bulb can bear light by itself; it must remain in the light string. Neither can you bear light unless you remain in Me. "I am the light string; you are the bulbs. If a man or woman remains in Me and I in them, they will bear much light; apart from Me you have no power...."

Why do we need power? To do anything...anything Christlike, that is—and that is the goal, isn't it? Being plugged in to Christ—reading His Word, walking in faith, doing what His Word tells us to do—means that we can be like Christ and be light in the otherwise dark world.




"He will bring us goodness and light."

—Do You Hear What I Hear?

He is our power within—"our confidence," as the hymn puts it. When you go about the day-to-day, in whose confidence are you resting? In whose power are you operating? Yours or His?? Power isn't just for the tough days (although, where would we be without His power on the tough days!?), it's for all our days, no matter what happens.

Need another example?
Consider Jesus' mother, Mary. There's a powerful song Amy Grant song out there that you aren't going to hear on the local "Lite" Christmas stations. It's about what this young teenage mother might have been pondering before the birth of the Savior. Her plea? "Help me be strong, help me be, help me...."



Do You wonder as You watch my face
If a wiser one should have had my place?
But I offer all I am
For the mercy of your plan.
Help me be strong, help me be, help me

Breath of Heaven, hold me together...
Be forever near me, Breath of Heaven.
Breath of Heaven, lighten my darkness
Pour over me your holiness for You are holy
Breath of Heaven....

—Breath of Heaven
We can't do anything without Him. So let's make sure that we're plugged in, ready to shine our light, so the whole world will know He is Lord!

Christ is the Lord!
With saint and seraph praising,
His pow'r and glory evermore proclaim!
His pow'r and glory evermore proclaim!

—O Holy Night


* * *


Jesus—Not just the reason for the season,
but our eternal season of reason.

* * *

You can follow my Countdown to Advent-ure posts, from now through Christmas Day, at my Mothers Of Preschoolers Mentor Mom blog, In-between time.
(Click on the nativity picture above to visit.
)

Comments

Edie said…
Your light bulb analogy is fantastic Sue J!

And I really needed the Breath of Heaven quote right now. Feeling a little overwhelmed today.
The Patterson 5 said…
I definately want to be plugged into the season! I love the analogy and the prayer of Mary.
Anonymous said…
I love the anology!!!!!

"You are the branches, I am the tree. No branch can grow without me. I will string my Light around to help you..."
Kelly said…
I love that light bulb analogy!

As for the song, if it's the one I'm thinking of, where she keeps saying TEENAGE GIRL I am not a fan. My kids go "Teenager? Why was a teenager having a baby? She wasn't married?" After the whole Zoey 101 thing, the Sarah Palin's duaghter thing, how do I explain this time it is okay? *sigh* Motherhood - an adventure!
Bonita said…
I'm so loving how you made Christmas lights into an analogy! Awesome!

I also love the beautiful picture of Jesus as the vine with the fruitful clusters of grapes hanging on the branches. I'm a visual girl in a lot of regards and this really helps me "see" it.
WOW Sue, this is a fantastic post! My favorite Christmas post of the season! I loved how you related the analogy to us today! That needs to be published somewhere!!

Be blessed today!
Sonya (shining because I'm plugged into the true power source!)
On Purpose said…
Thank you my friend for your prayers, love and support. You bring encouragement from God to me!
KelliGirl said…
Sue,
I loved your fresh new take Scripture. I think I see a translation in your future;-) You're right, though, picturing us as bulbs and Jesus as the cord/power is such a great analogy. You can play it out even further...about how we're better together. One little bulb lights a bit, but a whole bunch of them strung together...WOW! I'm going to soak in your words when I sit by my Christmas tree later.

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