Here’s the story I’ll tell my friends when they come to worship,
and punctuate it with Hallelujahs:
Shout Hallelujah, you God-worshipers;
give glory, you sons of Jacob;
adore Him, you daughters of Israel.
He has never let you down,
never looked the other way
when you were being kicked around.
He has never wandered off to do His own thing;
He has been right there, listening.
Psalm 22:22-24, The Message Bible
Never before in human history have we been besieged by so many words. Like the blast of a winter storm, words whirl in and out of our lives via airwaves or the Internet. Some people inundate us with incessant conversation; others simply send a surplus of texts, tweets, and email messages. Most of the time we process those words promptly, then prepare ourselves for the next round of communication coming our way.
It is for these reasons, particularly during this busy season, I felt it important to keep this Sonkist message short and, hopefully, sweet. In fact, I’d simply like to have you focus on one single word: Adore.
Now, as often happens, one word can lead to another—but hold on for a few more paragraphs for that second, far more important “word”. Right now, let me briefly explain what I mean by the term adore.
Like the famous song Adeste Fideles, adore finds its origin in Latin. The root meaning, ad + ōrāre, literally translates “to pray or to beseech.” In ancient times, anyone who used this word would have understood it meant “to plead with, appeal to, or approach (a god) as a suppliant or worshipper,” (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adore). No one centuries ago would ever have thrown around the term loosely as it often is today, for instance, “I just adore that outfit” or “We found a new restaurant we adore.” Instead, adore would have involved the greatest respect and reverence as the “oration” (prayer) was offered up.
The passage of time doesn’t mean the significance of the word need change for those of us who worship the One True God. Indeed, as the psalmist encourages in the passage above, we can and should adore Him, especially during this most holy of seasons. Why? Because, unlike others in our lives, He doesn’t let us down, look away, or stop listening. He is worthy of our praise, so let’s be sure to “punctuate it with Hallelujahs.”
This time of year, that praise might come in the form of Christmas songs like O Come All Ye Faithful, which when translated from the original Latin leads us to that second, most important Word we should know:
Yes Lord, we greet Thee
Born this happy morning
Jesus to Thee be all glory giv’n
Word of the Father
Now in flesh appearing
O come let us adore Him
O come let us adore Him
O come let us adore Him
Christ the Lord!
Why should we adore Jesus? Because He is literally “the Word” (John 1:1-4). He is not only with God, but He also is God. He is “the Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—” (Luke 2:11a). If we are going to adore anyone, it must be Him—and there’s no better time to do so than right now.
Can you take a few minutes today to adore your Lord and Savior? To do so, simply put everything else out of your mind and just focus on Jesus. What has He done for you? Thank Him for that. If you have a little extra time, read a favorite passage of Scripture, or listen to some music that inspires you to worship Him. Make this adoring process a priority each day of this holy season—and in all the seasons He gives you along life’s journey.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from all of us at Sonkist Ministries!
Thought of the Season
In the beginning the Word already existed.
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He existed in the beginning with God.
God created everything through Him,
and nothing was created except through Him.
The Word gave life to everything that was created,
and His life brought light to everyone.
John 1:1-4, New Living Translation