Behold!

Behold!

How I love that word! 

It always makes me think of Christmas and angels!

Who doesn't like Christmas?

Or angels?

Especially when they are delivering glad tidings of great joy!

It is a word that shows up a lot in the Bible.

Possibly because whatever is happening is so far out of the ordinary, 

so unexpected,

that God  has to direct our attention to it

 or we might just miss it altogether!

(...cue angels)

Luke tells us about the old priest who can't speak about the miracle baby that his wife will carry.
Until she gives birth to a son, and he names him John.

...Mary, just a young girl, a virgin who is given the message that she will be

 the mother of the Messiah!

Shepherds are told that the Savior, the Messiah, has been born...

and by the way...
He can be found lying in a manger...

a King wrapped in poverty and swaddling cloths.

Simeon... an old man waiting with a great purpose.
To see God's Deliverance.

Simeon who would embrace the baby Who had embraced him all along.

Each time, the word "Behold" makes an appearance.

Each person, going about the day like always.

No idea that what was about to happen to them would shake the world.

Behold!

This world that they knew was about to change in a huge way!

Sometimes though, like Job, we may discover that God often speaks in a still small voice.

There are no angels to speak "behold"

Just something that stops you in your steps

and demands your whole attention.

Beth Moore calls them God STOPS...

Savoring The Observable Presence.

Beholding the God who is invisible... 

seeing Him move in your life in a very visible way.

Consider the stars...

There is so much out there to take your breath away.

At least for a moment.

Christmas brings a special assortment of behold moments.

Like the decorations on a Christmas tree.

The twinkle in the eyes of children as they portray an angel or a shepherd in the nativity

old memories made new all over again... in traditions.

shiny wrapping paper.

Tinsel that glitters away with the slightest breeze.

The wonder that comes with the first snow falling.

So many lights!

Lights and Christmas belong together.

Lights are part of a favorite memory of mine when I was a child, 

One that we passed on to our children.

Now our grandchildren!

Those special night drives to see the lights.

One neighborhood display is very close to where we live.

Close enough to walk.

Which is a good thing, because some nights there are so many visitors 

that the traffic slows to a crawl!

If you were to find yourself in that traffic crawl, 

the best way to drive through this area is with an open sunroof,

and be sure to turn on the Christmas music..

It all feels magical.

It seems like worries are miles away

and they are.  

For a short drive anyway.

The people who live in this neighborhood 

offer those of us who drive through it at Christmas a great gift.

Like many of us, they have had a tough couple of years.

Just a few months ago, there were quite a number of houses there that had tarps on their roofs.

(there still are)

They could have decided they had enough to worry about with all the clean up from the storms.

But just before Thanksgiving, I noticed the homeowners  were already busy at work...

 hanging up lights.

Dealing with the damage that a major storm can bring...

does not mean the celebrations stop.

The lights will shine...

Because in this hard place

these dark days?

We all need the light.

We need it to shine in the darkness

We need it to burst through the shadows.

and we really need it to

Deliver the dawn.

Jesus tells us that He is the Light of the World.

In John 1 it says,

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, 

and the Word was God.

He was with God in the beginning.

All things were created through Him,

and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created.

In Him was life,

and that life was the light of men.

That light shines in the darkness

and yet the darkness did not overcome it.

Behold...

this baby!

Laid in a manger

Defeating darkness; delivering Dawn

Don't miss it...

Don't miss Him.

********************

Sometimes songs have a way of getting our attention.

This song did that one Christmas for me.

At an especially hard time.  A time of loss and uncertainty, I heard this sung.

A reminder that there is a light in every dark place.

 His name is Jesus.

********************

I remember one thing about the first Christmas I had as a Christian.

The message in Christmas carols.

Things that had somehow slipped right by me when I was younger.

But with a changed heart, 

I now saw these songs of the Christ child in a new way.

with new eyes.

*

Peace on earth, and mercy mild,

God and sinners reconciled

*

Let earth receive her King

*

Word of the Father,

Now in flesh appearing

*

Silent night, holy night!

Son of God. Love's pure light.

Radiant beams from Thy holy face

with the dawn of redeeming grace

Jesus Lord at the birth

*

Shepherds in the fields abiding

watching over your flocks by night

God with man is now residing...

Yonder shines the infant Light!!

*********************