– Monday Muse –
Dear One, as the congregation joyously sang out, “O come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant. O come ye, o come ye to Bethlehem. Come and behold Him, born the Kind of Angels,” I found myself not looking back to Bethlehem, the time of Jesus’ birth. No, I was looking forward…forward to Christ’s return.
I envisioned the faithful looking up into the sky to see the Long Awaited Jesus descending from heaven. As He did, He called out “O come all ye faithful. Come and behold Your Savior!” With the words of the hymn, believers called out in joyful and triumphant celebration.
Oh, the joy of Jesus’ second return! “O come and behold Him, O come and behold Him, O come and behold Him, born the King of Angels. O come let us adore Him.” Jesus has come! Jesus has come to claim His own…just as He promised!
I envisioned tears of joy, unheeded, falling unceasingly, while hearts swelled to bursting. “Oh, sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation.” Choirs of angels filled the sky above as Jesus drew nearer. “Come and behold Him. Born the King of Angels. O come let us adore Him. Joyful and triumphant!” As it does with all such times of passionate joy…it subsided. For who can bear, for long, such …intensity?
I wonder? Will I ever, again, sing the hymn while simply looking back? As God directs, I have long looked back with a grateful heart to Bethlehem. Here in our home, throughout December, a life-sized baby doll, wrapped in swaddling clothes, lays in a manger in our living room. A ceramic lamb sits to one side, a cow on the other, and a star hangs above. But in today’s society fewer and fewer acknowledge, and more and more ignore the promise of Christ’s return. There is now, in this nation, which was founded on Christian values, an effort to diminish, or erase, the Word of God from our daily life, and from recorded history. Has God blessed this nation so much that we think we no longer have need of Him?
When I see what is happening from coast to coast, border to border, in our churches as well, I think, oh come Lord Jesus. Come so that all will behold You…so that every knee will bow. Jesus, through God’s mercy, has given believers the Gift of Salvation, the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit, Heaven, and the promise of His triumphant return.
Dear One, while we are looking back at Bethlehem, let us look expectantly for the Gift Still to Come. Merry Christmas to you and yours!
“It is written: As surely as I live,
says the Lord every knee will bow before me;
every tongue will confess to God.” Romans 14:11 NIV
Blessings.
Susanne
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