Come to earth to taste our sadness,
he whose glories knew no end;
by his life he brings us gladness,
our redeemer, Shepherd, Friend,
Leaving riches without number,
born within a cattle stall;
this the everlasting wonder,
Christ was born the Lord of all.
Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus 1744
By: Charles Wesley (1707-1788)
Listen to this modern version of this Christmas carol as you prepare to ponder the lyrics. Please make certain to enjoy the video below.
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Please enjoy this video and the transcript below.
Transcript may be found below, at the end of the blog.
As we continue our journey through this Advent season and this Christmas carol, do more than sing these words, invite Jesus to come and fill your approach to Christmas with a greater awareness of His presence. Welcome Him to come and reveal Himself to you again. Let’s tune our hearts.
Sadness
We are born crying, familiar with sadness. Jesus knew only glory.
You have felt that moment depicted above. That moment when things seemed hopeless, too much to bear. That moment when you felt alone. When you could not see a way out.
Remember?
Before His birth Jesus knew none of that first hand. Being the limitless one, He had no personal experience with how limited our humanity makes us. So He decided to change that.
His existence had been so different from ours it would have been difficult to believe He understood our hopeless condition. He changed that by becoming one of us. The living Word of God took on human form so He could speak His glory into our lives.
And that He did.
Come to earth to taste our sadness,
he whose glories knew no end;
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14 ESV
Come to taste our sadness. What an interesting thought. Jesus came to taste the condition our sin had created. He came to become intimately familiar with it. His glories knew no end yet He came to experience the ugliness of humanity, and experience it He did, even to death.
RESONATE!
Take a few moments and think about any sadness you have recently experienced. Now reflect on the fact that when you are sad you can cry out to One who is familiar with sadness, and is ever with you in it. Make this your simple prayer today “Jesus, thank You for tasting our sadness.”
Gladness
There is yet more comfort available than His familiarity with and presence in our sadness. His life, the life He lived and that made available to us, brings us gladness. But what does that mean and how does He do that? Those answers can be found in the names attributed to Him in the next line.
Starting at the end, Jesus gladdens us with companionship. He is with us, simply put. We never have to face anything alone. That should make us glad.
He is our Shepherd. He guides us through valleys, and over hills. He keeps us safe from dangers. If we will but look to Him we never need wonder which way to turn. That should make us glad.
Then the one that is not capitalized but probably should be, redeemer. He saves us from our sin but redeeming our lives from the pit. We do not get what our sins deserve because He has paid the penalty.That should really make us glad.
by his life he brings us gladness,
our redeemer, Shepherd, Friend,
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26 ESV
Jesus asks Martha after the death of her brother Lazarus if she believes. That is the crux of the matter. These things are true, but the real issue for us is whether we will believe them or not. If we do, His life brings us gladness we can barely even begin to imagine. Hallelujah!
He lived in a way that showed us an alternative to our sadness. He offers us salvation, guidance along our journey, and companionship. But we must make the choice to receive these things and with them a different path. What will you do with the life Jesus offers?
RESONATE!
Take a few moments and consider the gladness Jesus offers. Can you marvel at redemption, yield to His leading, and bask in His friendship? Pray a simple prayer like this one, “Jesus, help me walk in gladness with You.”
God, thank You for entering our sadness and transforming it into the opposite. You have a way of turning things inside out and upside down. Do that marvelous work in my life again this season. In Jesus’ name. Amen!
Gladdened Tuning!
Keep coming back, and we will work to help you remove the things that may hinder your longing for His return by cultivating an awareness of God’s presence. We will help you tune your heart to live out your worship by providing resources like this to help you acknowledge the greatness of God as you become more Resonant, 7 days a week.
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Video 35.3 Transcript
Welcome to Tuesday Tunings at Resonant 7, where we reflect on the reality of God and resolve to let it resound in our lives, repeatedly. Let’s tune our hearts.
Come to earth to taste our sadness,
he whose glories knew no end;
by his life he brings us gladness,
our redeemer, Shepherd, Friend,
Leaving riches without number,
born within a cattle stall;
this the everlasting wonder,
Christ was born the Lord of all.
He knew what glory tasted like. He had only known that from the foundations of the world. So, He came to taste sadness, because presumably He never had. That is how different His existence was than ours. We are born crying, familiar with sadness. Jesus knew only glory.
Jesus, thank You for tasting our sadness.
He lived in a way that showed us an alternative to our sadness. He offers us salvation, guidance along our journey, and companionship. But we must make the choice to receive these things and with them a different path. What will you do with the life Jesus offers?
Jesus, help me walk in gladness with You.
Jesus chose to walk a different path so we could choose to do the same, though opposite. He left splendor for humility, making a way for us to leave sadness for gladness. He shows us a different way of living is possible, then invites us into one as different as imaginable.
Jesus, thank You for showing me a different path is possible.
I am not certain what is more wonderful. That Christ who was the Lord of all was born in such a lowly estate, or that a baby born in such a place could simultaneously be Lord of all. My feeble mind struggles with either idea, yet marvels at the everlasting wonder of both.
Jesus, help me marvel at the wonder of Your birth.
Take a few moments to talk to Jesus about what has surfaced in your heart, or just listen to what He is saying to you, then we will sing once more.
Sing
Take the awareness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes into the next ones and beyond. Until next time, Be Resonant.
The post Sadness Turned to Gladness, Courtesy of Jesus appeared first on Resonant 7.
Image Attributions
Come to earth to taste our sadness, he whose glories knew no end; – https://pixabay.com/photos/guy-man-people-dark-shadow-hands-2617866/
by his life he brings us gladness, our redeemer, Shepherd, Friend, – https://pixabay.com/photos/woman-happy-smiling-female-face-4701068/
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