One of my all time favorite Christmas Carols in “O Holy Night.” I look forward to hearing a soloist per- form this song every year at the Christmas Eve Candlelight Service. I was looking at the lyrics and sud- denly one line just exploded out at me:
O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth. Long lay the world in sin and error pining, 'Til He appear'd and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn. Fall on your knees! O hear the angel voices! O night divine, O night when Christ was born; O night divine, O night, O night Divine.
The line that stops me dead in my tracks is: “And the soul felt its worth.”
I don’t think this really happens much during the Christmas Season, do you? I mean you hear a Christmas Carol, you see a Manger Scene, your attention is turned for a moment to the Nativity of Jesus...but does it naturally follow that your soul suddenly feels its worth?
Why not? It seems like today we celebrate the Christmas Season in a vacuum. We do our best to turn our attention to Jesus, His coming, the circumstances surrounding His birth, and the magnificence of His gift! But it seems that we forget why He really came!
The Christmas Story is about a “Rescue Mission”. It’s about God coming to rescue us. It is about an act of humility, love, and selfless sacrifice unparalleled in the history of the world. But the act does not take place in a vacuum. The act is primarily to show the greatness of God and it does, but the object of this act is you and me. The purpose of this intentional act is our rescue, reconciliation, and restoration—to bring us back and bind us back to God!!!
Why have we lost sight of that? It seems that we focus today solely upon the supreme worthiness of God and the despicable worthlessness of all human beings. But the Christmas Story is about God saying to all of mankind, “Yes, I know you have all sinned and destroyed your relationship with me, but I still love you and I have come to rescue you!” Something profound takes place in the soul of a person when they know they matter, when they know they are valued, prized, and loved—it changes them!!!
The Christmas Story is the most stunning rescue story of all time and it is the greatest “Love Story” ever told!!! I think remembering this will help us celebrate the Christmas Season for what it truly is. Not in a vacuum, but in the context of love. I think it will allow us to be stunned and in awe at the way God goes about doing things. I think it will help us to fall in love again with His amazing heart of love. I think it will enable us experience some deep shift in our soul, as we come to feel our worth. We must really matter to God!!!
We look at the manger. We see the angels, the wise men, the Baby Jesus, and then we boldly sing, “And the soul felt its worth!”
God Bless & Enjoy this Christmas Season!!! Vernon