O
Come, All Ye Faithful
By Brita Crouse
“When the angels had
left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let's go to
Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us
about.’ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was
lying in the manger.”
Luke
2:15-16 (NIV)
O
come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant!
O come
ye, O come ye to Bethlehem;
Come
and behold him
Born
the King of Angels:
O
come, let us adore Him, (3x)
Christ
the Lord.
This
song has always been one of my favorite Christmas carols because it perfectly
captures the essence of the holiday season: joy in the birth of Jesus. But, it
wasn’t until a few years ago, that these words of jubilation took on a whole
new meaning for me.
For
most people, Christmas emits positive attitudes and optimistic outlooks, but
for my family it is also a stark reminder that an integral family member is no longer
with us because it was around the holidays that my family suffered a great
loss.
The
words to “O Come, All Ye Faithful” have always been powerful to me, but until I
experienced this grief, I could not fully understand the weight of its words or
the purpose of the song, which is to call us to faithfulness.
In
the verses above, we see the shepherds stepping out in faith by leaving behind
their livelihood - - their sheep - - to seek out Jesus. What a courageous and
rewarding act of faith!
We
can see throughout Scripture we are not called to be faithful to God only
during the good times, but at all times and through everything. Much like the
marriage vows spoken by a husband and wife - - which call for faithfulness, in
sickness and health, for richer or poorer, for better or worse - - we enter
into a similar covenant with God when we become a Christian.
My
family is not the only one who experiences polarizing emotions during the
holiday season. But, we still have hope and joy in Jesus during the holiday
season; a true testament to God’s faithfulness and our striving for
faithfulness to God.
God
continually conveys His faithfulness to us through His consistency and lavish
downpour of blessings. Shouldn’t we show Him the same kind of faithfulness, despite
our circumstance?
This
Christmas season, take time to behold and adore Christ and His greatness with
faith, joy and triumph.
GOING
DEEPER:
1. Listen to Adeste Fideles/ “O Come, All Ye Faithful.”
How can you apply these lyrics to your own life?
2.
How can you be encouraging those around you toward faithfulness to God?
FURTHER
READING:
Brita recently
graduated from Taylor University with a degree in Psychology, and is currently
a helper for Oakwood’s Quest 56 and the Just Among Moms weekly childcare team.
