Over the past few days, I have been getting ready for the Christmas season. It is upon us once again. In my Bible study and devotion time, I have been reflecting on celebration and joy. This has been a great study for Christmas time because I tend to get bogged down by the busyness of the season, losing my joy. But a joyful renewal filled my heart mind when two seemingly random events occurred yesterday.

What were the two events? I snuggled with my granddaughter enjoying a few quiet moments alone with her, and I read the words to “O Come All Ye Faithful.”

Last night I was hanging out with my son and his family. As the evening wore on I was getting a little tired and thought it was time to go home. As I suggested that I might leave, my granddaughter Greta got very upset. She wanted me to stay and put her to bed. Because it mattered so much to her, I stayed.

Over the next hour, I told her stories, and we snuggled in her bed. We laughed. We lay quietly. She hugged me. We celebrated and were joyful in the moment. Every time I moved, she said,” Don’t go.” It didn’t matter if I was trying to leave or not, she kept reiterating her desire for me to stay. And the truth was, I didn’t want to leave either. Why? Because we were having fun! We were enjoying our simple, quiet time together. I did have to leave eventually.

On the way home, I was listening to Christmas music. One of the songs was, “O Come All Ye Faithful.” I kept thinking about the song when I got home, so I decided to read the words.

Originally the song was written in Latin and is called “Adeste Fideles.” This literally means, be near or present you faithful ones (Osbeck 367). It is the hymn writers cry for us to stay close to Jesus.

The implications are profound. The great God of Heaven, ruler of the universe came down as a baby. One of the reasons for doing this was so He could draw near to us. Then we could draw near to Him, enjoying God in space and time history. He has come into our world. One verse of “O Come all Ye Faithful” says it this way “Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing”. The Bible says, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth…For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace” (John 1:14 and 16 ESV).

A central theme of the Christmas story is the fact that God came to be with mankind. “’Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel’ (which means, God with us)” (Matthew 1:23, ESV). Jesus came to be with us, and he desires us to come, to be near or be present so we can enjoy and fellowship with Him.

He says to come when we are tired (Matt 11:28), when we feel exhausted from the busyness of life. In the quiet places, He lies down and snuggles with us, telling us stories of His love and grace. He stays with us. And He enjoys this time. He wants to be with us, in the moment, celebrating. And the celebration need be nothing more than the fact that we are together and it is fun. And the best part is, He never has to leave. “For he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’” (Hebrews 13:5, ESV).

“O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.”