Let’s do a little time travelling and visit the earth some 2000+ years ago. Remember we’re going back to a time when Christmas was not an annual event and carols had no melody yet. Who wouldn’t envy seeing the shepherds in the fields of Judea invited to see the new born Savior by the heavenly host themselves or the three wise men from the east being led by the bright Star bringing their best gifts for the new born King of the Jews? Wouldn’t it be a real delight to see the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger in Bethlehem? Won’t it be a privilege to simply come and adore Him? It is such an easy thing to make Jesus the reason for the season … but… But life always has a way of interrupting the season. A fading relationship, sad and sudden death of a dear one, health issues, loneliness, failure, depression, COVID-19, misplaced priorities, SOPs and the likes can cloud our lives and have us feeling far removed from the feelings of joy and celebration of the birth of our Saviour. But on the brighter side, Christmas is the season of miracles, the season of rebirth, hope, forgiveness and love. And the Miracle is that God sent His Son for everyone: no one is to be left out.
Firstly, this season is the reminder of the most wonderful and precious gift God gave us: Jesus! The dictionary says that ‘ADORE’ means to love and respect someone deeply, it also means to worship. So the real question for you and me today is: have we ‘adored’ this Christ Child and truly welcomed Him in to our lives? Is there room in our hearts for this precious babe? Have we considered Him a gift to be shared with others? Or, have we considered this gift something to be tucked away in a drawer, too precious and too beautiful to use?
Secondly, as we take our steps of adoration for our Christ let us remember what Jesus said of the hypocrites of His time: “These people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.” (Matt. 15:8) To put it in modern terms, “We can sing the right songs, recite the proper prayers, follow all the questionable SOPs and attend or miss the right services.. but our hearts could still be far away from our Christ. Words are no substitute for the heart. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. (1 Sam 16:7)
Our hearts matter most to our Lord! And so if this adoration doesn’t come right from the core of our hearts it’ll be meaningless and empty. In John 4 Jesus told the woman of Samaria that the time had come when worship was not a matter of location, but was to be done “in spirit and in truth.” To worship in spirit and truth is to realize that true worship doesn’t start and end with the words that fly out of our mouths but it is the one that starts from the deepest bottoms of our hearts touching every part of our inmost being and ultimately reaching our God in the purest, unadulterated form.
Finally, this year has been different in so many ways. It’s been a long year, a long and perhaps tiring road but let us not shy away from sharing the true meaning of Christmas with others. Let us share the message of joy to this thirsty world. So what if the doors of our Churches aren’t as accessible as they were before? We can still spend our time at the manger and come and Adore Him in spirit and in truth remembering that we adore what is most precious to us. Let us celebrate this season of love and joy in one true heart for it is in celebrating God’s miracle that we discover how precious you and I and every person is to God!
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
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*Thugelhtu, tulel a Interview Crew member (Media Team), EBCC Delhi hihna len lel, banah BYF Dwarka area coordinator te laka khat ahi. Lungdam lua hang. Hun paisa a a thugelh, Saptuam blog a kikoih, link - https://blog.ebccdelhi.org/unlocking-worship-1-0/
