O Holy Night

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” – Isaiah 9:2

This weekend we gather in homes and churches all across the country to celebrate the birth of our Savior. We'll fellowship, worship, open presents and even sing…all to remember the greatest rescue mission ever. I love this time of year for lots of reasons, but the music surrounding it is at the top of the list. We start playing it right after Thanksgiving in our family.

One of my favorite Christmas songs is O Holy Night. It was originally written as a poem by a French wine merchant and poet, Placide Cappeau, who had been asked by his priest to write a Christmas poem. A later musical version written by John Sullivan Dwight, resulted in this particular verse:

O holy night, the stars are brightly shining;

It is the night of the 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 soul rejoices,

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

There is lots of imagery in that stanza, but I absolutely love the line… 'Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth.

We tend to cruise past lyrics in songs, but that line in particular leapt out of the music for me this year. I typically have focused on the “it is the night of the dear Savior’s birth,” which makes sense. I mean…it is Christmas and all, but this week the simple phrase “…the soul felt its worth” grabbed my heart.

This is why we all tend to feel a little different…even special…at Christmas. Its a time to remember a most impossible mission made possible. It was rescue mission. Better yet, it was God coming to rescue us. The King of kings and Lord of lords coming to rescue that which was most precious to Him. In this reality, the soul feels it’s worth; and we fall on our knees and worship Him…the ultimate hero!

Cappeau first wrote the refrain this way:

People kneel down, wait for your deliverance.

Christmas, Christmas, here is the Redeemer,

Christmas, Christmas, here is the Redeemer!

Jesus is the Redeemer because we’re a sinful, fallen and broken people. We trade the truth for a lie. We settle for the scraps of this world instead of seat of honor at the banquet table. We live our lives and use our bodies for much less than they were ever intended to be used, and we end up living in the oppression of our sin…in need of rescue. However, In that place, we fail to see and even forget our true worth as image bearers of the King. We can end up failing to know the worth of our soul.

However, in our brokenness, the Lord sees value. He loves. He pursues. He rescues. And that reveals our worth.

John Eldredge said it this way: “When a great King rescues his beloved, we all know she is precious to him. And we see his greatness.” In the light of that truth, everything changes. When we realize we are loved that much…that’s when the soul feels its true worth.

And after we fall on our knees in surrender before the one born in the manger that first Christmas morning…life is never the same. Something incredible takes place in our heart and mind when we know our true value. The brokenness and junk of the past is washed away in the hope that our ultimate hero and rescuer brings.

May you know and feel your worth revealed in His rescue this Christmas.

Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices!

O night divine, O night when Christ was born!

O night, O holy night, O night divine!