A Light for All People

A Light for All People

For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope. May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God in order that he might confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,

‘Therefore I will confess you among the Gentiles,
  and sing praises to your name’;
and again he says,
‘Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people’;
and again,
‘Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,
  and let all the peoples praise him’;
and again Isaiah says,
‘The root of Jesse shall come,
  the one who rises to rule the Gentiles;
in him the Gentiles shall hope.’

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:4-13

As we come to the end of another year, I have to admit - I’m feeling pretty worn out. Everywhere I look, the news is heavy: disasters reshaping whole communities, wars forcing people from their homes, and deep divisions pulling us apart. I find myself longing for some steadiness, for peace…and some days it’s hard to catch even the smallest glimpse of hope.

That’s why I’m grateful for Advent. It reminds me that God’s love broke through this darkness in the most unexpected way - not with fanfare or force, but as a baby born in Bethlehem.

Romans 15 reminds us that this love was never meant for one group alone. Paul writes of a Messiah who came as a servant to the Jewish people, confirming God’s promises, and at the same time opening wide the doors of mercy to the Gentiles. Through Christ, every division - ethnic, cultural, or social - is met with grace. The fractured find belonging. The wounded find healing. Hope itself takes on flesh and dwells among us.

Our faith, Paul says, is sustained by endurance and the encouragement of Scripture so that we “might have hope.” This hope is not naive optimism; it is a revolutionary trust that God’s love continues to break through despair, injustice, and fear. It is the love that refuses to yield to darkness, that insists on renewal even in desolation. Through the Spirit’s power, this love grows within us until we, too, overflow with hope.

Today, that same love calls us to embody its light. To see the refugee not as a burden but a neighbour. To stand with those facing racism and exclusion. To work for reconciliation in a divided world. It means recognising how our patterns of consumption and indifference harm not just the planet, but the people most vulnerable to its changes. This is the justice of Advent - a love that takes action, that crosses boundaries, that invites every nation and every heart into God’s unfolding story. This is a love that breaks through our divisions and differences.

Advent reminds us that love is not silent. It breaks through in hospital rooms, protest marches, dinner tables, classrooms, when we join our voices with those crying out for justice, and quiet acts of mercy. It whispers into fear: you are not forgotten. And it proclaims to the world: the God of hope is still at work.

May this season fill you with joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you too may overflow with hope - and become a light for all people.

Deni Harden lives with her husband Matt on Gundangurra Country in the Southern Highlands of NSW. A Kindergarten teacher at a local village school passionate about environmental care and justice, Deni is also involved in Kairos Outside Ministry supporting women impacted by imprisonment, and in Common Grace’s Knit for Climate Action. She loves bush walks, long cuppas, and time with family and friends.

This devotional is the eighth in a series of daily email devotionals for Advent 2025 reflecting on the realities of our broken world along with the unshakable hope that love still breaks through. It explores how God’s love disrupts, heals, and transforms - breaking through darkness, despair, and injustice to bring light, joy, and renewal.

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Common Grace is a diverse movement of individuals, churches and communities passionate about Jesus and justice. We have come together as those from different Christian traditions who stand in the continuity of the historic Christian faith, centred on the life, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ as witnessed to in holy scripture. This series highlights the diversity of followers of Jesus across these lands. These voices may not agree with one another (or with you), but they are each an expression of longing for the God whose love we see break through in Jesus.

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