O Come, All Ye Faithful

O Come, All Ye Faithful

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, Christ, the Lord. 

Sing choirs of angels, Sing in exultation, O sing all ye bright Hosts of heaven above. Glory to God, ll glory in the highest,  O 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,  O come let us adore Him, Christ, the Lord.

This song invites the faithful, those who are triumphant, to come to Bethlehem to behold the Christ child, the King of angels.  There is a verse in the Bible that lets us know there were some who did just that. Matthew 2: 11, "On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh."

The concept of "coming" to Jesus is one that started in Bethlehem and continued throughout his earthly life and even extends into eternity.  The fanfare and excitement surrounding his birth is accompanied with the invitation for us to "Come, and adore him."  Jesus himself, early in his earthly ministry, encouraged his chosen helpers to "Come, follow me."  It was during his ministry that he offered the plea, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest."

It is no wonder then, when Christians reach out to their friends and associates in the world, demonstrating their concern and love for the lost, do so with a message for them to "Come, to Jesus." We sing the song in our worship assemblies, "Come to Jesus, He will save you."

Today, we look at a familiar song of the Christmas season, "O Come, All Ye Faithful." In this season we are reminded of the story of the manger, the baby, the wise men, and the angels.  It is a story of the warmth of a family devoted to God; devoted to bringing up Jesus as he grew in "wisdom and stature and in favor with God and men."  Soon his ministry began and through his teachings the theme of love is seen. This is the one described in John 3:16 with the words, "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life." His ultimate measure of love came with the torture of the cross where he gave his life, dying for our sins.

Perhaps the greatest of the invitations we have been given, is revealed in this song of the Christmas season, "O Come All Ye Faithful," as the chorus of each verse encourages us to "come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord."  Come to him today.

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