oh come, oh come, Emmanuel

Oh, come, oh, come, Emmanuel, 
And ransom captive Israel, 
That mourns in lonely exile here 
Until the Son of God appear. 
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel 
Shall come to you, O Israel!

You might think I'm a little behind the times, posting lyrics to Christmas carols.  You would be right, too.
That's because this is about something that happened before Christmas!

The day before I left Thailand to go back home for Christmas, I was walking through Chiang Mai to meet a friend.  This was the 'old city' of Chiang Mai-full of a wide variety of people; tourists from all over the world, foreigners who live and work in Chiang Mai, and of course Thai people.  Students on their way home from school, young people meeting up with friends or going to work, monks, tuk tuk drivers, shop owners, food sellers peddling their wares from roadside carts.  

If you know me well, you might know that I just love Christmas music.  I was listening to a selection as I walked along, and this instrumental version of O Come, O come Emmanuel by Casting Crowns began to play.  I only really know the first verse of the song, so those were the words running through my head as I walked.  And as I walked, and thought about the words to this song, two thing struck me.

This song asks God to come and redeem Israel, and the world.  We know that God has done this already!  1 Timothy 2:5-6 'For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Jesus Christ who gave himself as a ransom for all people.  This has now been witnessed to at the proper time.'  Jesus came and was that ransom, and has ransomed and freed us from sin!

The second thing struck me as I looked at the people I passed.  Beautiful people, each one known completely by God.  But how few of them know Him!  How few of them are aware that the ransom has been paid for their lives!  

Imagine you had committed a terrible crime, and were locked up forever in prison.  If someone came along and was able to serve your sentence for you, take away all guilt and punishment on your behalf, wouldn't you rejoice!  Yet imagine that nobody happened to tell you.  Imagine if day after day, year after year, you were needlessly squandering your life in captivity, with no hope.  That is what I felt for those around me as I walked the streets of Chiang Mai.  Here I am, with the great truth of the ransom Jesus paid for my life, surrounded by people held captive in sin, with no knowledge of the name of Jesus.  If you are a Christian, you have that knowledge!  We are free, and we must share our freedom with the world.

Pray for Chiang Mai.  Pray for the world.  Live in Jesus victory, and proclaim His gift of life to those who don't know Him