The Christmas Carols: Past, Present, & Future HopeSample

Day 9

O Come All Ye Faithful

Read: Luke 2:8-20; Matthew 2:1-12

Every year on my son’s birthday, we have a party, which raises the question of whom to invite. Some years, the guest list is only family. Other years, we add a few friends. Still other years, the list has included all the boys on a team or in his class.

The next step is to send an email, phone call, or post card. Those who receive the invite then have a choice. Will they attend? Are they able?

I thought about this dynamic as I sang the lyrics of one of my most beloved carols, “O Come All Ye Faithful,” which recounts the birth day of Jesus when a “party” broke out near the manger. Of course Mary and Joseph were there, but soon others began to arrive. God the Father went out of His way to invite two very different (and unlikely) groups to the party - shepherds and Magi (see Luke 2:8-20, and Matthew 2:1-12). The shepherds represented common Jewish people - a class of citizens who would normally NEVER have been invited to a religious ceremony or royal birth. The Magi were Gentiles from a faraway land who had no expectation of inclusion in the plans of the God of Israel. Yet, at Jesus’ birthday party, God sends an angelic invite to the shepherds and a starry message to the Magi.

When these invites come, the shepherds and Magi have a choice. Will they attend? Are they able? Both groups decide they cannot miss this special moment and move toward the manger. As a result, both are incredibly blessed.

Now think about your own life for a moment. By virtue of reading this devotional and knowing the Christmas story, you have received an invitation from your Heavenly Father to come to Jesus and find your hope in Him.

This invitation is not based on our performance but on His grace. Sinful people like you and me, like the shepherds and wise men, get the invite to come to Jesus and find our hope and forgiveness and life in Him. Have you placed your faith in Jesus as the Son of God who took the penalty of our sins through His death on the cross? If not, hear “O Come All Ye Faithful” as an invite to come and adore Him and place your faith in Christ.

O Come All Ye Faithful

O come, all ye faithful
Joyful and triumphant
O come ye, oh come ye to Bethlehem.
Come and behold Him,
Born the king of angels.

Oh, come let us adore Him.
Oh, come let us adore Him.
Oh, come let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord!

Sing, Choirs of angels!
Sing in exultation.
Sing all ye citizens of heaven above!
Glory to God!
Glory in the highest!

Oh, come let us adore Him.
Oh, come let us adore Him.
Oh, come let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord!

Yea, Lord, we greet thee,
Born this happy morning.
Jesus to Thee be all glory given.
Word of the Father
Now in flesh appearing.

Oh, come let us adore Him.
Oh, come let us adore Him.
Oh, come let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord!