joy, unspeakable joy

I was struck by something in church yesterday morning: He came that I may have life, and have it to the full.

Yes, I knew that already. I knew it the same way I know every other wonderful reality in the Word that I hear and don't let sink in because it's too familiar. When I look back on my life, I love the times when I've come out of a season of sadness only to realize some beautiful truth that has been there all along, waiting for me to really grasp it in a moment of desperation.

But yesterday, that one hit me hard. I am so moved by music. And with the Christmas songs playing all around me these days (something I wish was more common, to be honest) I've found myself tearing up at "a thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices" and "word of the Father, now in flesh appearing" and "Gloria, in excelsis deo." Tears. Every time. I realized that He was born to give me life. He was born to strip away the yuck and the lies we too quickly believe. He was born to give us peace and happiness and hope and to take joy in His children when they experience those things. He came so that they may have life.

There's a Relient K song, "I Celebrate the Day," that stops me every time I hear it. It's so full of the feelings I feel every Christmas. And this year, I've realized the implications beyond just this season, praise God. What a feeling that day, to know what had just come into the world.

I celebrate the day, that you were born to die, so that I could one day pray for you to save my life. Pray for you to save my life.