O COME LET US ADORE HIM

O Lord, thou art my God;
I will exalt thee, I will praise
thy name; for thou hat done
wonderful things; thy counsels
of old are faithfulness and truth.
Isaiah 25:1

This carol, “O Come All Ye Faithful” has always been one of my favorites even from childhood. The chorus of this Christmas hymn (as I love to call Christmas carols spiritual in nature) was very easy for a child to learn. Let's face it...it wasn't hard to repeat the one phrase three times ending with “Christ the Lord.” Perhaps that was the inspiration for today's 7/11 choruses...seven words sung 11 times. However, I don't believe that was the intent of this favorite carol. We have sung this carol over and over, but I wonder if we pay any attention to the words we sing. Let's just think about the first verse.

O COME ALL YE FAITHFUL – This is obviously a song of invitation. We're asked to “come.” Who is invited? God's faithful are invited...ALL of them, not just whoever feels like it.

JOYFUL AND TRIUMPHANT - How are we to come? We are to approach Him with the greatest of joy knowing we are triumphant because of THE One we are coming to adore.

O COME YE, O COME YE. - The invitation is not only repeated, but stressed with the used of repeated phrasing. It should give us a sense of urgency.

TO BETHLEHEM – My Bethlehem right now is my own heart. It's where Jesus lives through His Holy Spirit. The fact is that I can come to Him any hour of the day, day of the year to worship and adore Him, not just during the Christmas season.

COME AND ADORE HIM – All of that cantata's, gifts, parties, family gatherings, parades and decorations are wonderful, but that's not the purpose of this season. We are to approach Him with hearts full of adoration. The dictionary defines “adore” as deeply loving, respecting and even worshiping another. Is that who we are as opposed to all of the holiday trappings?

BORN THE KING OF ANGELS – What an odd phrase this is in this beautiful carol. However, a reference to the pre-incarnate Christ was a necessary bit of information. Long before Jesus' appearing on earth, He always WAS in Heaven. Angels bowed before Him. Even Lucifer did for a time before his fall from Heaven.

O COME LET US ADORE HIM – There is that invitation again. The verse has given us information that should cause us to come to this point. The chorus repeats this invitation two more times, almost building with a determined, knowing proclamation...

CHRIST THE LORD – It's Him...the long awaited One spoken of throughout the Old Testament Scriptures. He was promised down through those hundreds of years. Perhaps some had almost given up hope, but He was still destined to join us in this sinful world...perfection taking on human form in a sinful, lost, dusty world. He did it for you and He did it for me.

When He came, angels sang His praises. Shepherds (who lived with the worst of reputations for just being shepherds) left their flocks to find that little one Who would come to be known as the Good Shepherd. Even educated men in the science of the stars made a trip that took several months to find that special child.

Is it asking too much of us to “Come let us adore Him?” We have come to know not just a baby in a manger, but we have more importantly come to know Him as Savior. We appreciate the baby, but that baby grew up to be a Man, a Man who chose to die for you and me. It's fine to sing of our adoration for baby Jesus, but our song should rise with great triumphant adoration we feel for Jesus, our Savior and King.

                                   O COME LET US ADORE HIM,

                                   CHRIST...THE LORD!

We love You Jesus and are sorry for being remiss in expressing our love and appreciation for all You have done for us and all You continue to do for us even down to each breath we take. Thank You for leaving Your throne and coming to earth for us. We love you, and yes, we adore you. In Your precious name...Amen