O Come Emanuel

On Sunday  at church we had a Christmas worship service. I was so pumped, my inner kid was shinning for the whole world to see. I was so wrapped up in the Christmas feel and nastolgia of being a little kid on Christmas morning. In the middle of the service we began to sing the song “O Come, O Come Emanuel”, and my whole perspective changed.

Being a very American girl when I think of Christmas I think of peppermint mochas from Starbucks, Christmas lights, layers upon layers, cute boots, artsy Instagram photos, and the cartoon version of the messiah coming to the world. While we began to sing the words “O come , O come Emanuel…..” I began to realize the vitality of Christmas. The song so clearly portrays the longing the Israelites had for their Savior, their Redeemer. The Israelites whole life banked on the coming of the Messiah. They waited for centuries for him anxiously waiting and praying for God to bring their Mighty Warrior. They were taken captive, slaves, beaten and mocked because they were God’s chosen people. They  suffered greatly while awaiting the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

When I hear the words “O Come, O Come Emanuel” All I can picture is the Israelites fighting an immense battle begging the Lord for their Savior so that they can be free from the slavery of the Egyptians, the Romans, etc. I hear it as a battle cry; what the exclaimed as they suffered tremendously for God’s name.

Christmas is God delivering His promise and bringing hope to the world. He sent Jesus to pay the ransom for our bondage. Imagine the anticipation in waiting for the messiah. When the angel came to the shepards they must have been astonished because, they were experiencing the fulfillment of the promise their families had talked about for centuries.

Here is my question: Now that the messiah has come what do we hold on to? We hold onto the promise of his return. The hope of him coming back and taking his people away from the darkness of the world. I challenge you to rejoice in Christ this Christmas. Jesus came when his people pleaded for his return. Do you? Do you plead for him to come and free us from the darkness? Do you rejoice in his name and beg for God to fulfill his promise.

I have recently been surrounded by a lot of darkness. I believe my generation is going to suffer greatly because of generational sin. Beg for his hope to be apparent in my generation. That when we are at our worst we would fall to our knees and exclaim, “O come, O come Emanuel! Ransom us, let my heart rejoice in you. Rejoice! Rejoice!” I challenge you to beg for him to come, to make himself apparent in our culture so that he rule will be known and every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. That is what Christmas is about.