In the 1800’s a familiar song
was written that start with these words: “O holy night! The stars are brightly shining. It is the night of our dear Savior’s
birth. Long lay the world in sin and
error pining, ‘til He appeared and the soul felt its worth. A thrill of hope, the weary world
rejoices. For yonder breaks a new and
glorious morn.” This, of course, is “O holy night” and it is one of my
favorite Christmas songs, but I’m concerned that it has become so familiar that
these lyrics lose their power and wonder.
For all of its distractions, Christmas
is about celebrating that holy night all those years ago, when a miraculous
baby, the Lord Jesus, entered our world.
In fact, when it happened, a messenger from Heaven announced the news to
a group of lowly shepherds. “I bring you
good news that will cause great joy to all people,” the angel said. “Today in the city of David a Savior has been
born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11). “Long lay the world in sin and error pining, ‘til
He appeared and the soul felt its worth,” says the beloved song. In other words, the world had been immersed in
bondage and sin; waiting and waiting for this Savior, this Messiah, to
come. And when He finally did come, as “O holy night” puts it: there was a “thrill of hope, [and] the
weary world rejoice[d].”
I think everyone wants to experience a “thrill of hope” but they don’t necessarily know where to look for it. In Hosea 2:15, God speaks of “a door of hope”. A whole blog should be written on this verse in context, and the beauty of what the Lord is saying; but for now, consider the imagery: God is saying there is “a door of hope”. It’s not found in getting everything on our wish list this season, or having life line up just the way we wanted it. Hope is found in person of the Lord Jesus Christ. If I didn’t believe this with my whole being, not only would I never write something like this, but my entire life would look completely different.
When Jesus came, people
misunderstood who He was, and what He came to do. Jesus, if you’ll permit me to use superhero terminology, was – and is – the God-man. No one else in human history was qualified to
do what He did. That is, to live for us,
and then die on a cross, and rise again from the dead. Only He was perfect, sinless, and God in human
flesh. We are sinners, all; He is the
Savior. In Matthew 1, Joseph was told to
give this special baby the name of Jesus because “he will save his people from
their sin” (verse 21). The name Jesus
literally means “The Lord saves.”
So what does one do with
this? Acts 3:19 puts it well: “Repent,
then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of
refreshing may come from the Lord.” My
urgent prayer is through these words on a blog post, someone would turn to God in faith and
trust for the very first time. Or, maybe you’ve done this once
upon a time, but you’ve drifted and you need to return to God. I think any honest Christ-follower will admit
that this can happen; I’ve certainly been there. Don’t delay, turn back to God today. The Bible says, “His mercies are new every
morning.” Come home. This Christmas season can be an amazing “thrill
of hope” because of Him.
God bless,
Kevin
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