Christmas comes with a soundtrack. Some silly songs include snowmen and reindeer, while other melodies rouse deep emotions. We sing of silent nights, a babe in a manger, and the arrival of a King. All the while, the twinkle lights flicker and flames cast a nostalgic and festive hue.
On the same radio, from the same lips, words of adoration and joy rub against busyness and consumerism. It’s a constant tug away from the eternal wonder of Christ.
We come to church and sing to the Lord, bringing Him thanksgiving and songs of praise. We open the Word to hear from God, engaging our mind and applying that knowledge and understanding to our hearts. For a few seconds—maybe even a few minutes—we are overwhelmed in the best possible way. Then the chords of the closing hymn begin, and we gather our belongings and people and head into a new week. Thoughts of Christ and his awesomeness remain, but they move somewhere behind all the things that stuff our day-to-day life.
We sing, “O come, let us adore Him” but live as if we adore ourselves, our ambitions, or the world.
Still, Christ calls us to come. To pause. To adore. Not with a fleeting emotion or a single Sunday moment, but with hearts that live in awe of Him daily. Be thankful because “the Lord is a great God” (Psalm 95:3). He holds the depths of the earth, the heights of the mountains, and formed the sea and dry land. This is our God. Our Maker. We belong to Him, the people of his pasture.
The holiday season holds an invitation to examine our worship and shift our adoration from the distractions of this world to the One who came to save it.
So this Christmas, as we sing, “O come, let us adore Him,” let them be more than words. Let them be a reflection of a life surrendered to the glory of the One who is worthy.