O Holy Night

O holy night, the stars are brightly shining.  It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth!

Tears spring to my eyes as I sing this Christmas carol every year.  Besides the beautiful music, deep truths lie within the words and remind me of the glory and power of God demonstrated in his son.

Long lay the world in sin and error pining till he appear’d and the soul felt its worth.

This line is one of the most powerful to me.  Before Christ entered the world, his creation yearned deeply for him.  The same yearning applies before we come to know him as our Lord or any time we choose to worship something else besides him.

Oftentimes in the church we are most encouraged by the testimonies of Christians with an amazing conversion story that tells of the depth of their sin prior to meeting Jesus and the dramatic change that comes after.  (These stories are awesome!)  

What we sometimes forget is that regardless of our stage of life or faith journey, we are all at risk of replacing Jesus with something else that we think will fulfill that longing for worth, that will fill that void that often displays itself as discontentment or dissatisfaction.  Anytime one of us turns from those empty “God replacements” is cause for celebration.  (Considering I was nine-years-old when I trusted Jesus as my Savior, a majority of my struggles with sin have taken place after I became a Christian.  I have had many opportunities to celebrate!)

Think about a time in your life (maybe that time is now) when that longing for something to fill your soul is so strong and the search to find something to satisfy it is coming up short.  Those are the times we are searching for our God who makes himself known to us as the Creator, as the Holy Spirit, and as Jesus who made the relationship even more personal by entering our world in the flesh.

Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother, And in His name all oppression shall cease.

May we worship him with reverence and admiration this Christmas season.

Fall on your knees…Oh hear the angel voices…Oh night divine…Oh night when Christ was born