Every December we celebrate a birth that happened more than 2,000 years ago because it was the beginning of a life and mission that hold critical and eternal significance for all of us. It was the birth of Jesus Christ which manifested the supreme love of God for all His children.
In a recent Devotional Meeting at
Brigham Young University, newly called counselor to President Dallin H. Oaks in
the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
President D. Todd Christofferson, spoke about the Savior’s condescension to
leave His divine throne above and live like every other mortal on the very
earth which He helped God the Father create.
“It is almost impossible to grasp the
magnitude of the Savior’s condescension”, President Christofferson said in his remarks.
“He came as a helpless babe, born in a
humble stable, with a manger used for feeding animals as His cradle. He
experienced what all of us experience: growing over time in knowledge and
ability, developing from infancy to childhood to youth to adulthood. While on the earth as a mortal man, Jesus
experienced hunger and deprivation, pain and fatigue, persecution and
rejection. In the end, He was crucified and put to death.
“We are fully justified in joyously
celebrating the birth of Jesus. It is this tender beginning that eventually led
to His Atonement, which, in turn, leads to the new beginnings in our lives and
faithfulness to the end of our lives.”
No wonder we sing “Joy to the World"!
"Joy to the World" was written in 1719 by the English minister and hymnist Isaac Watts. The hymn is usually sung to an 1848 arrangement by the American composer Lowell Mason of a tune attributed to George Frideric Handel. The hymn's lyrics are a Christian interpretation of Psalm 98 and Genesis 3.
Since the 20th century, "Joy to
the World" has been the most-published Christmas carol in North America,
even though it originally was unassociated with Christmas. It was initially written about the Second
Coming, not Christ’s first coming as a baby.
But I love how W. W. Phelps, a poet
and early member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, changed
the words in the chorus from “Let heaven and Nature Sing” to “Let Saints and
Angels Sing”. We sing this version at Church.
I believe we were all in that
numberless throng of angels proclaiming joy at the birth of Jesus Christ and
His mission on that “ONE WONDERFUL NIGHT”!
This December let us include in our
celebration of Christmas, not just Christ’s birth, but also a re-consideration
of Christ’s remarkable atoning mission as a new beginning in our own
lives with a fervent personal commitment of faithfulness to Jesus
Christ forever.
No comments:
Post a Comment