O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

December 9

It’s not about us. No matter who we are. The only One who may lay claim to the reality that it is all about Him is Jesus. We may, as Shakespeare observed, “strut our hour upon the stage,” for indeed, we all have our role to perform, but in having completed our part excellently, the performance is still not about us.

From the fall, man has been longing for a Savior. The vessel through which that Savior came was the nation of Israel. As the glorious 12th Century hymn proclaims, “O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.”

We may even fancy ourselves to be stars in the drama of life, but no matter how large a part we may have, no matter how crucial our role may be to the outcome of ‘the play,’ we are expendable. Each of us can be replaced. Elected officials are voted out of office; lovers are replaced; best friends move on. None of us is uniquely qualified to speak our lines—except Jesus.

Nobody can slip into His role. He has no understudy—He did not take one with Him to the cross. The Lord fulfilled His role and because He did, everyone who believes may complete his own performance to the utmost of his ability. No matter what circumstances befall our lives, we may know with certainty that we will deliver our lines, perform our role, effectively.

Paul said in II Timothy 2:9, “For this I suffer, to the point of being bound like a criminal, but God’s message is not bound.” Paul, the great apostle, the one whose life touched more souls for the Kingdom of God than any other but the Lord’s, knew that it wasn’t about him. Paul knew that though he might be imprisoned and executed, the Truth he bore could never be stopped.

Why can we be so certain that our role in life will be fulfilled? Because Jesus has fulfilled His. As the old Latin hymn, translated into English in 1851 by John Mason states, “Thou Rod of Jesse, free Thine own from Satan's tyranny; from depths of Hell Thy people save and give them victory o'er the grave!“

Jesus has given us the power to realize our God-given destiny. We cannot be stopped from achieving any goal He sets before us because our Lord has conquered the foe! And not only may we succeed in the Lord’s plan for our life, we may attain His ultimate goal for us which is Heaven. We may rejoice in the knowledge that He is ours and we are His.

How precious is the truth that Jesus saves and sets us free—not only from sin but free to become the fullness of all our innate abilities and desires can realize; free to attain unto the destiny of a blood-bought soul that is bound for Heaven.

From "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel," 12th Century Latin Hymn