Come and Behold Him
One of my favourite Christmas songs is O Come All Ye Faithful. It's got some beautiful words that really make us think about Christmas in a deep way, and I am going to run us through them this week.
Let's start on verse 1 which says:
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
Following the Wise Men's Example
The word "come" is the key one here, and it makes me think of the wise men from the east who came to Jerusalem when Jesus was born and said in Matthew 2:2 "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw His star when it rose and have come to worship Him."
Of course, you don't have to go to any particular place to worship Him now. Wherever you are in this very moment is a perfectly acceptable place to worship Jesus!
But, for the faithful Christian, the Christian who is overjoyed by Jesus, and who is triumphant because of what Jesus has done - there is something special about coming together with other faithful, joyful, and triumphant Christians to worship Jesus as a group of believers.
Bethlehem in Our Church
There is a sense in which church is Bethlehem to us, at Christmas time! The church - the people of God - is where Jesus dwells now. So just as the people gathered to worship Him there at the stable, so now we gather together as His people and worship Him in our own spiritual Bethlehems.
Do you hear the call, to come together and worship Him? To gather to behold Him who was born the King of angels?
Be faithful, and gather with your fellow Christians where you can, this Christmas.
Be joyful, and celebrate this child that would change the world.
Be triumphant, because you know His power and His love and His wonder.
Come together with your people and behold Him, and this will be a special Christmas time.
