Christmas Music

One of the things I love most about the "Christmas season" is the music. Not so much the Jingle Bells, or Deck the Halls, or especially Santa Claus is Coming to Town. There are so many good hymns, and some good contemporary Christmas music, as well. I really like Steven Curtis Chapman's two Christmas CDs (The Music of Christmas and All I Really Want for Christmas) and MercyMe's The Christmas Sessions. But one of my favorite songs is one that took me a long time to realize it was even a Christmas song. I guess I just enjoyed the sound of the song so much that I didn't even pay attention to the lyrics. But when I finally did, I was floored. Here are the lyrics to Chris Rice's "Welcome to Our World:"

Tears are falling, hearts are breaking
How we need to hear from God
You've been promised, we've been waiting
Welcome Holy Child
Welcome Holy Child

Hope that You don't mind our manger
How I wish we would have known
But long-awaited Holy Stranger
Make Yourself at home
Please make Yourself at home

Bring Your peace into our violence
Bid our hungry souls be filled
Word now breaking Heaven's silence
Welcome to our world
Welcome to our world

Fragile finger sent to heal us
Tender brow prepared for thorn
Tiny heart whose blood will save us
Unto us is born
Unto us is born

So wrap our injured flesh around You
Breathe our air and walk our sod
Rob our sin and make us holy
Perfect Son of God
Perfect Son of God

Welcome to our world

Click here to listen to a sample of the song.

Having a newborn son this Christmas makes that fourth "verse" really get to me. I cannot imagine giving my son up for anybody, yet God gave up His one and only Son for all of us. To think of the Son of God coming to earth as a little baby, His tiny heart literally filled with blood that would save us ... I cannot fathom the depth of God's love. For anybody reading this, I hope and pray that you will be humbled this Christmas by the love that God demonstrated in sending His Son to die for our sins. Do not let Christmas pass without dwelling on the reason why Jesus came - the story of Easter.