Light has come into the world!

John 3:19: This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. (NIV)

One doesn't need a literal belief in the words of the Bible in order to appreciate that it sometimes has wisdom. For those of us in the community of child lovers, we know that we represent Light and Love in a world of Darkness - and the Darkness comprehends us not.

The story of Jesus is the story of one who sought to bring Love into the world and was attacked by those whose selfishness or stupidity prevented them from accepting or understanding that Love. Instead of accepting this free gift, the people attacked the messenger and blamed him for their own shortcomings - and instead of fighting back he accepted that guilt on their behalf so that they could put it behind them and begin to grow. Our experience as child lovers has much in common. We love the children of the world even as they are taught to hate us, and do our best to help them grow even when they frequently turn against us.

John 4:16: God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. (NIV)

For those who have a literal belief in the Bible, note this verse. It is not exclusive: Whoever lives in love lives in God. God is Love.

We can be confident in our Love for little girls, even though the Darkness comprehends us not. As we celebrate this holiday at the time of year when the days begin to get longer in the northern hemisphere and light returns to the world, we remember that we battle the Darkness on their behalf as well as our own, and this is an expression of our Love.

Merry Christmas, GirlChat!