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
