Tis the season….
To be jolly. To deck the halls. To walk in winter wonderlands. To make a list and check it twice.
And….to be completely exxxxxxhausted but oh so full of joy!
But mostly, it’s the season for the faithful to come and adore their King.
Oh Come All Ye Faithful is a Christmas anthem. We’ve been singing it for years and using some pretty big bold words to declare our faithfulness. But let’s take a moment and ask ourselves, “Who are the faithful?”
It’s easy to include ourselves in this isn’t it?
Identifying the faithful is a somewhat dangerous undertaking. It can quickly become a game of pointing fingers and including and excluding. Our Jesus came to this Earth to diminish the very idea of claiming ourselves as more faithful than another. He tells us to humble ourselves, to be lowly in spirit, and know our need for Him.
This hymn is for the truth seekers, the mercy givers, and the light chasers… it’s a song for the sinners, for the skeptics, and the lost. It’s a song for God’s beloved chosen people.
The faithful is you, it is us. It is anyone willing to come and adore Jesus Christ.
How will we adore Him this Christmas season...
What if we were quick to listen and slow to speak (to someone who looks different than us?)
Maybe our words would be a bit more gentle (even when we know we are right.)
What if we slowed down and prayed for our waitress or our neighbor.
What if we counted everything as joy... every good, bad, and ugly moment of the season?
Oh Come All ye Faithful…. Joyful and Triumphant.
Another command and a reminder of why we do what we do.
We are joyful because we know the manger is empty and the cross is bare. We rejoice because what we are fighting for has already been won. We can’t see it yet, but we can read about it.
John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
1John 5:4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.
Oh Come Let us Adore Him…
We sing this refrain again and again, but do we stop to see the depth of what’s expected?
To adore means to worship, to glorify, to exult.
Clearly we are worshipers-- just look at how we spend our time.
Our time has a way of revealing the truth about our worship.
But are we good at kneeling in adoration of our King?
Do we stop and ask for His help when we feel the busy stirring?
Let’s let our every breath hang on the simple truth that God really dwelt among us. And that His Spirit is dwelling within us. And one day we will spend eternity with Him in Heaven. We will sing with the angels in jubilant chorus and forever be with our King.
Let us be faithful.
Let us adore Him.
Let us remember Heaven and Earth sing when we come and adore the king.
Oh Come, dear friends, come and be found faithful this Christmas.
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