Come, Let Us Adore Him

The busyness of Advent and Christmas season is over. We start the new year by putting away the decorations, writing thank-you cards, and focusing on the routine of life. But wait -- we sure don't want to lose out on the lasting lessons of the season, do we?  I think not. One of the main lessons of Christmas, I believe, is
one we need to carry with us all year: to worship Jesus Christ! Let's look at that.

"O Come, All Ye Faithful" is a moving hymn of Christmas. It starts us all moving toward the manger where our Lord was laid to protect him after being born. The humility he showed us is astonishing, as he submitted to being held in such a simple bed, in such humble surroundings, even though he was -- and is -- the Lord of the universe. He, the creator of the universe, who spoke the stars and planets and everything else into existence just with a word -- he came to serve us, to live with us, and to sacrifice himself for us. And he put himself at our mercy: he first had to be served by his mother and father as they fed and nurtured and protected him, changed his messy diapers and helped him learn to walk and talk. He even submitted himself to them as they began to teach him about the God of the universe (How exactly did that work, anyway? I really don't know!).

That Christmas carol ends with the chorus "O come, let us adore him" repeated three times, and if the choir sings it right, with increasing volume encouraging us to surrender ourselves in adoration. What is adoration? In the case of Jesus, it means to look with love, awe and amazement at the majesty, power, purity, love, humility, and absolute authority, among other qualities, of the one we call Jesus.

We may have 50 chores to do today, or only five, and they may all seem important and challenging. But the most important thing we can accomplish, without a doubt, is to adore Jesus Christ. Please stop and take some time, whether a few minutes or getting lost for an hour, focusing your thoughts on the incredible majesty of Jesus our Messiah, our anointed King, the one who has saved us. Do that every day, faithfully, for a month, and see how your perspective changes about all the other stuff that seems so important as you start this year.