Welcome.

I’m always on the lookout for new Christmas songs. Last Christmas season, some friends shared one I hadn’t heard before, one that instantly became a new favorite, one that  absolutely spoke to my heart. “O Come All You Unfaithful” is a rousing Christmas song with a compelling message for all of humanity. Here are the soul stirring words:

“O come, all you unfaithful

Come, weak and unstable

Come, know you are not alone

O come, barren and waiting ones

Weary of praying, come

See what your God has done

Christ is born, Christ is born

Christ is born for you

O come, bitter and broken

Come with fears unspoken

Come, taste of His perfect love

O come, guilty and hiding ones

There is no need to run

See what your God has done

Christ is born, Christ is born

Christ is born for you

He’s the Lamb who was given

Slain for our pardon

His promise is peace

For those who believe

He’s the Lamb who was given

So come, though you have nothing

Come, He is the offering

Come, see what your God has done

Christ is born, Christ is born

Christ is born for you

Christ is born, Christ is born

Christ is born for you”1

Now, take a listen if you wish. It’s moving. I wept when I first heard it, and I still have wet eyes as I listen to it for the who knows what time.

In these powerfully moving lyrics, those of us who find ourselves among the unfaithful, weak, unstable, lonely, barren, waiting, perplexed by seemingly unanswered prayers, bitter, broken, wrestling with silent fears, harboring guilt, hiding, and empty handed are the ones who are specifically invited to come (that about covers all of us). Every solitary soul needs Christ’s healing and help. We not yet together, we held back by sin or sorrow, we who are a hot mess, we unfaithful and wandering, we uncommitted and sometimes uncaring, we who can’t wander (even though we may try) out of the eye view of our sacrificed for us Shepherd – yes, we of that rank and file are summoned for an acquaintance and friendship with Him.

Come such friends, please come.

It’s so relieving that Jesus wants us – as bitter or as empty handed as we presently find ourselves – to come. To just come. To move our big toes and take one tiny step in His direction. To look up in the mess. To pause in the confusion. To bow our heads in the fear. To stop running. To yearn for better over bitter. To solicit his gentle hand to steady our wobbly walk. To come out from the shadowy corners of guilt and regret. To lay down the bottle or the disbelief or the whatever and look instead to Him for comfort, peace, and hope.

Come such friends, please come.

When you come, you see. When you come, you find. When you come, you heal. When you come, you become. There is no tasting that leads to feasting without first coming.

Come such friends, please come.  

The truth is heart swelling and sin destroying: Christ was born! For me. For you. For our sweet salvation. Imagine! No redemption from sin. No liberation from death. No healing One to alleviate our sorrows and carry us through them! How bleak! How dreary! How dreadful!

But!

IT IS NOT SO!

He came. You are redeemed! There is no need to die of a broken heart or live with shoulders drooping under sin’s heavy weight! Come claim your daily flowing gift of grace: His presence, His peace, His protection, His healing, His pardon.

Come such friends, please come.

And when you come this Christmas, bring all of you. The parts that are beautiful and the parts that are straight up ugly. Bring your brokenness. Your exhaustion. Your frustration. Your bitterness. Your loneliness. Your empty womb. Your fears. Your guilt. Your shattered dreams. Your reserved heart. Your all. The arms of Jesus are as wide as eternity; they can hold you. Every part of you. All of you is welcome into the gentle arms of Jesus!

Gift yourself this Christmas by coming. It would be the supremist of all your gifts – the only one you in fact really need this Christmas.

Come such friends, please come.

Come to the manager and find the Babe that brought salvation and hope. Come to the temple and let Him teach you there. As He once taught on sanctified steps as a boy, so His presence and power now grace hallowed halls. Come to the mountains and hills and hear his sermons. Come to the rivers and oceans and see him stilling boisterous waves and wild winds. Come to the well and learn how you can quench your thirst. Come touch the hem of His garment and be made completely whole. Come to the Garden of Gethsemane and if you can bear to endure it, watch Him pray more earnestly in His anguish. Come to the cross. Hear his final plea to His Father: “…forgive them; for they know not what they do.” 2 Come to the garden tomb. You will find it empty. Reverently remember the angel’s seven words: “…he is risen; he is not here…” 3

Praise God and thank Jesus for your free gift! Then figuratively pick up and shoulder your tailored Christian cross, and march towards Him with determined resolution and imperfect strides.

Come such friends, please come.

Get close enough as it were to touch Him. You will find in the place of what you may think to be deserving rebuke no such censure. Instead, you will be overcome by the gift of His love.

As you come, He will see you from afar. He will come running. He was born to offer urgent help in desperate moments. In those hallowed times when you have stilled your soul, you will sense Him near. He will come. He will come. He will come.

Will you?

Unto all the world: Come such friends, please come.

1. Lyrics to “Come All Ye Unfaithful”
2. Luke 23: 34
3. Mark 16:6