The Light of The World (Emmanuel)

It’s so easy to get caught up in the commercialization of Christmas. Between the gifts, the decorations, the cookies and the traditions, it’s easy to forget the whole reason we celebrate Christmas. With Christmas in just a few days, I wanted to share some things that have been on my heart lately. I have really enjoyed all the holiday inspired posts I’ve shared lately, but today I wanted to take a minute to share something a little different. 

This year has been different for me than previous ones. I don’t know if it’s because of everything going on with my dad, or because my faith has grown so much this past year, but Christmas holds more meaning to me than it ever did before. I’ve been a Christian since I was 6 years old, and I am so grateful to have come from a strong, God-fearing family. I have always known that we were celebrating the birth of Jesus at Christmas, but it wasn’t until I was much older that I really began processing what exactly that meant and why that was important. Every year I feel like the Holy Spirit has opened my eyes a little bit more to help me understand the importance of the arrival of Jesus Christ.

For the past year I’ve been reading through the Bible, and it has been so amazing to see how God had been setting everything in place for the arrival of Jesus from the minute sin entered the world. From His words to the serpent in the garden, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:15) to the prophecies in Isaiah, “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5), he had been preparing the world for the arrival of its Savior. How amazing is that? The night Jesus was born, the world was given the hope it had been yearning for, and that’s the hope I want to hold on to this year. 

A few weeks ago I went to the Lauren Daigle and For King and Country Christmas Concert. I fell in love with Lauren (she’s adorable!), and when she talked about the story behind her song “Light of the World” I couldn’t help but tear up. She said the inspiration behind the song was the 400 year period between the Old and New Testaments. For thousands of years, Israel had heard about the Savior that was to come. And for 400 years everything went silent. I can only imagine how they felt in that time! Despair, anxiety, sadness… 

The world waits for a miracle
The heart longs for a little bit of hope
Oh come, Oh come Emmanuel

The child prays for peace on earth
And she’s calling out from a sea of hurt
Oh come, Oh come Emmanuel

And then, in a way that no one expected, on a night that no one thought was special, He came. The hope they had been waiting for for thousands of years came! 

The drought breaks
With the tears of a mother
A babies cry is the sound
Of love come down
Come down, Emmanuel

He is the song for the suffering
He is messiah
The Prince of Peace has come
He has come, Emmanuel

The picture those words paint is beautiful. It wasn’t a silent night, but it was a night of hope. It was the night that changed the world and set into motion the greatest miracle of all- the perfect, spotless lamb dying on a cross for a bunch of wretched sinners and raising back to life on the third day. Glory to God for his mercy and grace! 

Glory to the light of the world
Glory the light of the world is here

That being said, this year is different. Christmas has become more than just a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus. It’s so much more than that! Yes, it’s a time to celebrate His arrival. But it’s also a time to give thanks to God for sending His son. A time to renew ourselves in Him. A time to come together with the bride of Christ and praise Him. A time to spur one another towards the Lord. And a time to abide in the truth, sovereignty, love, hope, peace and justice of God. 

Emmanuel means “God With Us”, and I pray that this Christmas you may remember these words. And, most of all, that the Lord may be glorified and lifted up.