O Lord my God,
When I in awesome wonder
Consider all
The worlds Thy Hands have made,
I see the stars,
I hear the roling thunder,
Thy power throughout
The universe displayed;
Then sings my soul,
My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art!
How great Thou art!
When Christ shall come,
With shouts of acclamation,
And take me home,
What joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow
In humble adoration
And there proclaim,
“My God, how great Thou art!”
Then sings my soul,
My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art!
How great Thou art!
O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of the dear Saviour’s birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, the night when Christ was born;
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!
Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
O’er the world a star is sweetly gleaming,
Now come the wisemen from out of the Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our friends.
He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger,
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!
Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.
And in his name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
With all our hearts we praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. - Luke 2:8-14
Like the man who once thought he had to become a fish in order to have a real and loving relationship with his pet fish, so also God became a man in order to have a real and loving relationship with his creation. Okay, all illustrations break down at some point…..
But seriously, Christmas is the time of year we (should) remember, celebrate and proclaim the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. It is because God became a man and lived among us and died, taking the punishment of God’s wrath upon himself that we may be forgiven and granted everlasting life. The hope we now have is that Jesus said he will return to judge evil and bring his redeemed people to himself. The present benefit for those who have received God’s gift of salvation is new life in Christ – a life of purpose and fulfillment, but more importantly, a life of being in right standing with God, able to have a mutual loving relationship with our Creator and Redeemer. And let us also remember the gift of his Holy Spirit to all who believe and trust in Christ.
Some people believe this to be a fairy tale of sorts. Or they just choose not to think about it; and in the meantime continue to ignore God and his wonderful gift. In reality, the time to surrender to Christ as the only way of salvation is now, for tomorrow is not promised. After death it will be too late. Just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many. You can learn more about Jesus Christ, his birth, life, ministry, teachings and death in four books of the Bible: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. May God’s Spirit draw you close as you seek him!
