O Holy Night

I learned the Christmas story as a small child, and up until a few years ago I was experiencing it backwards, as John Frye so well puts it. I'd been focusing so much on the end of the story-- Jesus having died on a cross for our sins-- that I was missing the incredibility and awe of its beginning: God, the Creator of everything, having chosen to come into the world and dwell among us. I was celebrating Easter at Christmas.

As God continues to grow my understanding of the miracle of Christmas, the holiday song that has been my favorite for years -- O Holy Night -- has become more of a worship song to me than just a traditional carol. It is my prayer that we will all continue to be amazed, year after year, by the momentous event that was Christmas -- that we will always take the time, in the middle of the busiest season of the year, to fall on our knees and praise our Creator for joining us here on Earth over two thousand years ago.

O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of our dear Savior's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
'Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope; the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! O, hear the angels' voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born;
O night divine, O night, O night Divine.
*Recommended reading this season: Mangerology: Jesus' First Bed (John Frye)