True Treasure!

May 18, 2023

True Treasure!

As I write, I am listening to a Christmas song titled, “O Come All Ye Faithful.”  I know it is unusual to be listening to Christmas music in the month of May.  But, the repetitive refrain is sinking deeper and deeper into my heart.  The familiar words were written by John Francis Wade in 1841.

“O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him,
Christ the Lord!”

O come, let you and me and us adore Christ the Lord!

The word “adore” means respect, honor, and revere.  Adore means admire, honor, and worship.  Adore means to treat the focus of my adoration as God.  Let us adore Christ the Lord!

At Christmas, it is easy to let our adoration of the Christ-child quietly lying in the manger become a sweet and sentimental experience that makes the Savior more human and less divine. 

Singing the refrain of “O Come All Ye Faithful” in the month of May avoids some of that sentimentalism.  There are no Christmas lights and brightly wrapped gifts to divert my attention.  There are no Christmas trees and Christmas parties to distract my focus.  There are no Christmas dinners and no traveling hundreds of miles to be home for Christmas to sidetrack my attention. 

In the month of May, there is only the invitation to adore Christ my Lord.

Jesus invites me to consider what and who I adore most.  Is it something in the garage, is it the person with whom I live, is it a memory of something in my past?  Or, is it Christ my Lord who is worthy of my adoration?

In my devotional time Tuesday morning, I read Matthew 6:19-21.  These are the words of Jesus as He taught His disciples about the essence of being a Christ-follower.  Most of us are uncomfortable with Jesus’ words here because we have decided Jesus is talking only about our money.

Although it is clear Jesus is speaking about our money, Jesus is also speaking about much, much more.  Jesus is speaking about that which we adore most in life.  In Matthew 6:21 Jesus says; “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Adoration is an expression of what lies deep within the human heart.  Adoration is the outpouring of what we treasure most.  I wonder if an almost 200-year-old Christmas song speaks about much more than a Jewish baby born in a stable.

O come, let us adore Christ the Lord is the song of the believer who adores Jesus with all their heart, mind, and soul.  It is the song of the believer’s heart whose most valuable treasure is knowing Jesus as Savior and Lord.

I invite you to listen to the song “O Come All Ye Faithful” today.  Listen to Lauren Daigle or Carrie Underwood or Pentatonix sing the song.  Listen to Alan Jackson or Nat King Cole or Luciano Pavarotti sing the song.  Just take a few moments to listen to what Jesus has to say to you. 

And then…let your heart express the true treasure of your heart as you adore Christ the Lord.

When you adore Christ as your most valuable treasure, your heart will be filled with delight.  And then, the delight which Jesus pours into your heart will overflow into the lives of those around you. 

Take a moment to adore Christ the Lord today.

Take Delight In The Lord!

Doug