A Closer Walk
A CLOSER WALK
Greg Worthen
Thanksgiving is past, and we have given thanks (hopefully). Now we are looking toward Christmas and celebrating the birth of our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ. By the way, Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua. And Christ is the Greek form of the Hebrew title Messiah. So we celebrate the birth of Joshua the Messiah who we know as Jesus the Christ. Here are some random quotes about Christmas. “Sleigh bells ring are you listening?” “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire.” “I'm dreaming of a white Christmas.” “Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way.” “O come all ye faithful.” “Silent night, holy night.” “Joy to the world the Lord is come.” And one of my personal favorites, “Rock'n around the Christmas tree,” recorded by Brenda Lee in 1958 when she was 13 years old. All these quotes are the opening line of familiar and widely used Christmas Carols. What would Christmas be without them?
Christmas without Christmas Carols. Christmas without a famous Christmas poem. You know the one. “Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house... .” Christmas without the Christmas story found in Luke chapter 2. “And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed,” Luke 2:1 KJV. Would we be harmed without any or all of these things? Well, not physically, but emotionally and spiritually? Could be. For they are about our Blessed Savior. Or about the joy of the holiday. And the two intertwine. We can celebrate the birth of our Savior while we reap the benefits of the joy of the Holiday. A Christmas without Carols, or the poem, or the Bible passage from the book of Luke would seem diminished, incomplete, as though something was missing.
"For it is good to be children sometimes and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty Founder was a child Himself." Charles Dickens (1812-1870), “A Christmas Carol.” Christmas reminds us of our own childhoods, and according to Mr. Dickens, Christmas is the best time to return to being a child because the founder of Christmas was a child Himself. “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this,” Isaiah 9:6-7 KJV.
Have you thought about why Jesus came when He did? Here is the simplest answer, Because our God chose that day and time, and He ordained it as such. Before the beginning of time. Before the foundation of the earth. See, for us time is linear. It flows in a straight line always moving forward. Never backward. Our God, however, is not restrained by time. So at a point in history chosen by Him, Christ was born. Not a thousand years earlier, not a thousand years later. But at the exact moment in time that the Lord God chose.
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given... .” The genealogies of Jesus given in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke tell us that Jesus, the child and son to whom the Prophet Isaiah referred, was the son of David, because Jesus was one of David's descendants. So our Savior was and is the Son of David, the shepherd boy who grew up to be King of all Israel. And He will sit on the Throne of David perpetually and eternally. The Only Begotten Son of the Lord God Almighty. There is no one else like Him before or since. The Lord Jesus, “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross,” Philippians 2:6-8 KJV.
Jesus, our Jesus, our Messiah, our Savior, even though He existed in the form of God, voluntarily laid aside His very Godness (if I may be allowed to use that term) and came to earth and was born of a woman. He grew into a man and humbled Himself to the point of willingly going to the cross to die, and to pay the penalty for all our sins, both yours and mine. This is why we celebrate Christmas. This is why George Frideric Handel wrote “The Messiah” with its “Hallelujah Chorus.” This is why composers over the years and the centuries have written Christmas Carols and poems. Many about the child whose birth we celebrate. Some about the joy of the Holiday. “For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder.”
“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! God of God, Light of Light, lo, He abhors not the virgin's womb; very God, begotten not created; Sing, choirs of angels; sing in exultation; sing, all ye citizens of heav'n above!
Glory to God, all glory in the highest! Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning; Jesus, to Thee be all glory giv'n! Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing! Refrain: O come, let us adore Him; O come, let us adore Him;
O come, let us adore Him, Christ, the Lord!” Words by John Francis Wade (1711-1786), tune, Adeste Fidelis, and now Mr. Wade is generally recognized as the composer of the music as well. The chorus, “O come let us adore Him...” works any time of year. For we should be adoring Him, and it reminds us of such.