Frank's Cottage

O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of our dear Saviour’s birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
‘Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth.

I’ll bet you don’t have to think long to match the melody with the lyrics of this well-loved Christmas carol. I’ll also bet that like me, some of the subtleties of the words have passed by unnoticed.

But someone brought up the verse above at work the other day and pondered the line “‘Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth”. Any idea what it means? Here’s my interpretation: ‘He’ is Jesus of Nazareth, who many people believe is the Son of God. The inference in this lyric is that His arrival, and all that it meant, caused people to feel valued in a new way.

The lyric makes sense to me because according to original-source biographies of Jesus’ physical time on earth, His birth was first announced not to the Donald Trumps, Queen Elizabeths or Taylor Swifts of that time, but to a group of smelly sheep herders. It was the first of many, many times when Jesus would level the playing field between the haves and have-nots of this world.

Some faiths adhere to a “caste” system that ranks people’s value. Others faiths advocate violence against those who do not agree with their beliefs.

Meanwhile, those original-source biographies describe how Jesus casually did the unthinkable for a Jew in ancient Israel: he had a very public conversation with a non-Jewish woman, and she was of questionable repute, too. Because of what he did, her soul felt a new worth.

Is that model being carried out today by followers of Jesus? Yes. Consider that a majority of prison ministries are run by Jesus followers. Why? Because the criminals we’ve locked away as dangerous and useless are of huge value to God. In fact, they have the same value as you and me. Looking for proof? One of Jesus’ earliest and most influential followers wrote this: “Because all people have sinned, they have fallen short of God’s glory.”

Notice how it doesn’t say criminals have sinned more? Notice how it doesn’t say religious leaders or Nobel Prize winners have sinned less? That statement is a great equalizer for all of us, just as it was a great equalizer for the woman Jesus encountered.

The good news that Jesus followers celebrate at Christmas is God sent Jesus for all people. The evidence is this excerpt from one of His biographies: “God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him would not be lost, but have eternal life.”

Again, notice there are no exceptions listed? That’s the unique thing about following Jesus. Because our souls have equal worth to God (regardless of who we are or what we’ve done or haven’t done), we all have a chance to accept God’s extraordinary Christmas gift and find new meaning in our lives. So what’s holding you back?