Monday, December 1, 2014

Now in Flesh Appearing

I have a memory that replays in my head every year about this time. It's of my cousins, aunts, uncles, grandmothers, parents, siblings, and myself, sitting crammed in a few pews together waiting for the Christmas Eve service at my home church to begin. My grandmother has sat in the same pew since probably 1945.  I think this specific Christmas Eve, I was in elementary school. After my parents had strategically placed us next to the family members we would get in the least amount of trouble with, the chiming of the hour began, the organ started playing "O Come All Ye Faithful", and the choir began processing in. The song was filled with thunder and power as these leaders in the church were proclaiming and singing about the hope of Jesus. This is the first memory I have of hearing harmony to a piece of music and being able to sing it alongside of my mom.

I adore Christmas music, mostly all the old Christmas hymns. They're the only ones I know all billion stanzas to. But, "O Come all Ye Faithful" is without a doubt my favorite. It's a song of gathering, of invitation and of a glimpse into what Heaven is like. 

When reading the narrative of Jesus' birth, the details of who was there, where it happened, and understanding the timeline, I zoom in on my favorite part: the immediate response people and the Heavens had in response to Jesus' birth. It gives me a good idea and example of how I am to daily be responding to God's presence.  I get to respond daily to this hope and love, because I have a relationship with Christ. How am I responding?  In the responses of the Shepherds, Wise Men, Parents of Jesus and the Heavenly Realm of Angels, we're given the first examples of how to live as followers of Christ. How did people respond when they realized that God IS WHO He says He is, when all of the prophecy was coming into fulfillment? I'll tell you what, they didn't give Jesus their leftover time and effort in the day, which is what I'm often so guilty of doing. 

In Luke 2, we see these actions as people's responses to the news of Jesus' birth: terrified, hurried to see the Christ, amazed,  thankful, in awe, glorifying, praising, humbled, treasured...

Here's the thing that I've been convicted of, I get to experience God like this every single day because of the Holy Spirit and my personal relationship with Christ. Are these the daily expressions and responses I have? Are these my expressions of gratitude and expectation? To be honest with all of you, no. They're not. I get caught up in asking and wanting, without stopping to realize what I've experienced. I get caught up in treating God like a genie instead of the God who desires to know me and use in me in ways I will never understand.  I rarely stop to bask in the presence and hope that I have because of Christ's birth. I only know hope because of His existence. The beauty of who God is, is that He is the exact same as the God who sent His son over 2,000 years ago. He hasn't changed. The God who in His perfect power and sovereignty, sent Christ to rescue and redeem the world, still makes Himself known to me.... TO ME, Elizabeth. 

Because of Christ's birth into the world, everything has changed.
Because of Christ's birth, we're invited to be a part of an intimate and personal relationship with the Creator of the whole Universe.
Because of Christ's birth, I have hope.
Because of Christ's birth, I'm able to be used by God. 

This is reason to celebrate, and gather, and be welcomed into the family of God. The words of the hymn are brought back into perspective; we are to come to Christ joyful and triumphant because everything has changed because of His birth. Behold, the King of Angels that has been born and who we're invited to know and love. YOU AND ME can know Him.  Come, friends, Let us Adore Him, let us respond to His love by praising and honoring Him with how we speak, act and love. Let us fall prostrate at the manger, because Christ came in human flesh to perfectly love us and show us a freedom we've never experienced. 

My favorite verse of the whole song is the last one, because I feel like I'm invited and ushered to sing with the Heavenly Host of Angels, who surrounded Christ that day He was born into the world. This last verse is what Heaven will be like, when we are eternally with God, sitting at His feet praising Him with the Heavenly Host of Angels.  That will be when we are experiencing what God fully made us for, eternity. Our hearts will swell, and we will be looking to Him face to face. I want this posture of expectancy and eagerness to greet Him, to be the outcry and song of my heart all the days I'm breathing here on earth. Let the hope, joy and expectancy of this song flood over you as we welcome and prepare our hearts to celebrate the day that everything changed.






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