By Christopher Basilio
Day 6. December 19, 2021
Bible reading: Luke 2:1-20, Micah 5:2
The Christmas carol “O Come All Ye Faithful” is a translation of a Latin hymn “Adeste Fidelis”. The Latin hymn exact origin is still not known but the earliest copy we have is from a printed compilation of musical manuscripts by John Francis Wade in 1751[1].
Come, all ye faithful, joyful, and triumphant!
For more than 400 years, the Israelites are waiting for their Savior to come. The loyalty, dedication and attachment are so deep that succeeding generations continue the legacy of waiting for the Messiah to finally come. It is truly a heart moving moment.
The heart to long for and be with the Savior, King and Healer is what makes this song meaningful to us today. Like the shepherds with faith, delight, and joy in their hearts, do we see the same kind of eagerness, devotion, and commitment in our relationship with God? Are we longing to be with God?
Come and behold him born the King of Angels.
To behold is to know, recognize, perceive, understand, or comprehend. After the longing to be with Christ is the excitement to know who He is. When the angels tell the shepherds to behold the King, it is an invitation to yearn and nourish a growing knowledge of who the Messiah is; knowledge that can only be achieved by experiencing, by enjoying a relationship with.
Am I knowing God more and more as I am growing older as a disciple of Jesus? For an engineer, growing in our technical knowledge means three things, 1) Learning new things, 2) Influencing others with things I learn, and 3) Publishing things I learn so others far from me can know what I am learning. Which among the three have you done?
Come, let us adore Him.
The chorus of the song is the crux and purpose of the entire hymn. Now that the Christ is with us, let us cherish, love, and worship him!! All the heavenly host singing majestically this chorus may be a picture of pure reverence and awe. Amen!
Let us cherish our relationship with God. To cherish is to never let go, no matter how many times you fall, make mistakes and be angry with God. Never, ever let go of your special relationship with God!
Let us love God with everything we have. Let us love God even if we only have few things in our life, even if we do not have anything in our life. Let us love what truly matters to us. God truly matters to us!
Let us worship God. Worship is reverent fear. Reverent fear has to do with respect and honor, not fear of punishment. Let us repent of our wrongdoing as a sign of respect and honor to God.
This Christmas let our relationship with God grow deeper. Let this song inspire us in our walk with God. Come all ye faithful!
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