recently i attended an all sons & daughters / tim tommons concert in the area. during one of the familiar worship songs, tim timmons stopped and challenged us. he asked, “what if we really, whole heartedly believed the amazing words we were singing? how would our worship be different?”
what a simple, profound thought. we often worship so flippantly, allowing words to casually fall from our lips before taking time to examine our heart. my worship the rest of the evening was altered. i could no longer just sing to be a voice. with each song, i had to consider what i truly believed about each word i voiced. more often than going through the motions of the song, i fell silent in prayer.
as we enter the Christmas season, i can’t help but think about applying this same principle. we will have the opportunity to hear and teach scriptures we have studied countless of times. carols and worship songs we sing are so familiar we could easily sing the last note without ever truly pondering the truth the tune holds.
so, i ask myself this Christmas:
what if i lived like i really believed the miraculous truths of Christmas?
what if instead of “lip service”, i celebrated Christmas with “life service” grounded in deep belief?
what if, as i taught the lessons of Christmas to children, i could support them with examples of where i have allowed Him to be faithful to me?
my Christmas could be different if:
as i pondered the way our Savior and King entered the world, i could eagerly trust that His ways are not like mine.
i believed beyond the shadow of a doubt that “nothing is impossible with God.” (luke 1:37)
i not only taught children about how an angel told mary, joseph, and the shepherds “not to be afraid” (luke 1:30, matthew 1:20, luke 2:10), but i lived a fearless life trusting God’s plan.
mary’s song caused me to examine if my soul truly “glorifies the Lord.” (luke 1:47)
like the shepherds, my reason to hurry was to spend time with Jesus. (luke 2:16)
i, like the wisemen, may have some valuable gifts for Jesus this Christmas. i could lay down some idols and my “precious” time. i could tightly wrap up control and trust it to the One who holds me in the palm of His hand. and, i could consistently lay my future at my Savior’s feet.
one day at a time this Christmas season, may i live more and more like i believe!