Jesus, Lord at Thy Birth

Some songs are made for worship. Think "Holy, Holy, Holy" or "How Great is Our God." These songs are simply meant to honor who God is and praise Him for it. Other songs are meant to express some sort of emotion. Maybe your favorite love song comes to mind. (I see you, humming "It Had to be You" over there.) But there are some songs that are meant to tell a story. Country music fans are pretty familiar with this style! This morning in church, this was the type of song that was catching my attention in a whole new way. Not a story about a girl and a truck, but a story, nonetheless. 

You may not know all of the lyrics to "Silent Night," but most everyone can hum along and even fit some words in here and there. I had the privilege of singing with some pretty incredible musicians who just made the song come alive for me. Have you ever heard a song in a whole new way just because of the instruments being played? These musicians ushered in the presence of God, and with it, a new clarity on the song for me. 

Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace

Silent night, holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight
Glories stream from heaven afar
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!
Christ, the Savior is born
Christ, the Savior is born

Silent night, holy night
Son of God, love's pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth

Christ, the Savior, was born that night. Jesus, the Lord was born that night. He did nothing to "become" our Savior or our Lord. He simply was. He didn't reach 21 and all of a sudden get His Messiah license. That baby - that sweet, soft, tiny, helpless baby - was equally our Savior then as He was during His three years of public ministry. He was equally the Lord at the moment of His birth as He was when I allowed Him to be MY Lord that day in June, 1994. 

The beauty and revelation in the words of this song can easily sneak past you in the disguise of a Christmas carol if you let them. This season, look past the tinsel and look into the heart of God. He is lingering in every moment of Christmas, not just in the form of a cute baby at the church nativity scene. He is glorious. His birth announcement made the shepherds tremble with fear! Heaven was bursting over with "glories" and "alleluias" over this infant Savior. The pure Light of Heaven had come to Earth, revealing the earliest light of the dawn of our redemption. The grace He would offer to us at the moment of His crucifixion was beginning to peek out over the horizon, ready to reign over our sin and grief. 

As you celebrate this season, don't forget that the Jesus who healed and fed and loved is that same baby we honor. His strength was perfect even then. He was, and always will be, Christ the Savior. Jesus, the Lord at His birth.