⁴ In him was life, and the life was the light of men. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. – John 1:4–5 ESV

This Christmas, I am drawn to the opening words of John’s Gospel because I find these words to be the source of hope in a dark world. Billions of people will celebrate Christmas today, and billions more will still be hurting. Some will participate in celebrations even though they are hurting, doing their best to mask the pain that lies underneath. Others aren’t celebrating anything today because they don’t know there is reason to celebrate. For them, they live their lives today with the ever present reminder that their pain is real, that something about their lives is off.

I don’t mention this to ruin your day. Nor do I think you should feel guilty for joyfully celebrating the birth of Christ. Instead, I will invite you into the what I am trying to be mindful of this Christmas: realizing the fullest extent of just how broken our world is while also realizing the fullest extent of why the gospel is such good news.

So, how should the reality of our broken world and the reality of our neighbor’s broken world affect those of us who are joyfully celebrating Christ’s birth?

By turning to the opening lines of John’s Gospel and letting the weight of the first five verses hit us like they never have before.

Everyone who lives today does so through broken experiences. Their experiences testify that their life is less than it ought to be. But the life within Jesus is the light of mankind. The light of Jesus shines into the darkness of our lives, and it remains shining through the full weight of the world’s darkness. The gospel is good news because Jesus brings life to mankind, a version of life that cannot be snuffed out by darkness. The life of Jesus is the light that is ever shining, that is always bright, and that is always good news.