Once upon a time, there was a young missionary who lived in one of the northern states of India. He was so passionate about sharing the good news of the Gospel to the villagers around him. On one fine day he met Sanjay, his wife Usha, and their two kids Gourav and Mohit. As a result of his prayers and evangelism, Sanjay and his family accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Through the Bible studies of the young missionary, Sanjay and his family developed a strong relationship with Jesus Christ. It led to the water baptism of the family. The villagers noticed a drastic change in the life of Sanjay. He is not drinking alcohol anymore; he is not beating his wife; he is regularly going to work. They even began to hear family prayers from Sanjay’s home. The villagers observed all these changes in his lifestyle and kept it in their minds.

Weeks and months passed by. The day of the festival of lights has arrived in the village. The whole village was eagerly waiting for this festival. They bought various types of lights and ornamented the trees, streets, and houses of the village. Amid all these decorations, the home of Sanjay stood unique from others. Villagers were astonished by seeing not even a single sign of the festival in his home. While all the villagers were celebrating the festival, Sanjay switched off their home’s lights at the regular time and went to bed. A few months later, on a chilling winter night, the villagers noticed that Sanjay is decorating his house as they did in the festival of lights. He also brought a huge star and put it on the tree in front of his house. This is quite new to the villagers and it was high time for them to break their silence. So, they came to Sanjay and asked, “Why are you celebrating late the festival of lights in this winter?” He said, “It is not the festival of lights, rather I am celebrating the birthday of The Light of the World. I was just like anyone else in this village. During those so-called festivals of lights, there were lights outside my home. But deep inside I was stuck in the darkness of addiction, alcohol, family abuse, poverty, and so on. But after I met Jesus, there is light in my life. I am not struggling in darkness. I don’t know whether my Savior was born on this exact date and time; but I do know that He indeed was born, and He lived, died, and resurrected for me. He is also living inside me and directing me on every step. I wish you too realize that the light of Jesus Christ will bring meaning and direction for your life”

Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the World; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life” (John 8:12) Highlight: Jesus is also living inside me and directing me on every step