Winter Solstace - From Darkness to Light

     The winter solstice occurred this year on December 22^nd at 5:30 AM in the northern hemisphere. Now, just what is the winter solstice? Winter solstice for the northern hemisphere is when the northern pole is tilted 23.26 degrees away from the sun. This occurrence marks both the shortest day light hours and longest darkened hours in a 24 hour period for the entire year. For some, it marks the first day of winter, for others, the longest night of winter, and still for others, the moving forward from darkness to light.

This event has happened since the creation of the universe, and has been observed since the creation of man. The Lord God declared that the seasons would exist and the time markers for the seasons are observed by the positions of the sun and moon relative to the earth (Genesis 1:14ff). These time markers are very important to man for the successful planning of soil preparation, planting, growing season, harvest, and storage. Within the periods of labor God has established periods of rest for man seen in the observance of Judeo-Christian religious festivals throughout the seasons.

    Now, why all of the fuss? God has left the testimony of Himself in the heavens for all creation to witness. The message is two-fold; we are to move from the darkness of sin towards the light of the righteousness of God, and having done so, we enter in to the rest and peace of a proper relationship with God. Jesus spoke of sin as darkness, and separation from God as darkness; he also declared himself to be the light of the world and

the righteousness of God in the flesh made known to man. The message of God, the Gospel of Jesus Christ witnessed in the heavens is to move in to our hearts by faith in Jesus Christ. Next time, we’ll talk about that “clean slate” everyone expects with the coming of the New Year.

     
     Rev. Andrew Baker
Chaplain, Northwest Georgia Amateur Radio Club W4VO
 chaplain@w4vo.org. or abakerissaved@aol.com