I was listening to one of my James Taylor Christmas albums on my way home from work yesterday. It's a nice collection of songs an carols sung as only JT can sing them. One of the carols is particularly interesting to me...it's reminiscent of the old Sabbath School song: "Jesus loves the little children--all the children of the world: red and yellow, black, and white--all are precious in His sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world." The thing about this carol, though, is that it takes all the children of the world and talks about how they see Jesus, kind of reverse from the song:
Some children see Him lily white,
the baby Jesus born this night.
some children see Him lily white,
with tresses soft and fair.
Some children see Him bronzed and brown
The Lord of heav'n to earth come down.
Some children see Him bronzed and brown,
with dark and heavy hair.
Some children see Him almond-eyed,
this Savior whom we kneel beside.
Some children see Him almond-eyed,
with skin of yellow hue.
Some children see Him dark as they
sweet Mary's Son to whom we pray.
some children see him dark as they,
and, ah! they love Him, too!
The children in each different place
will see the baby Jesus' face
like theirs, but bright with heavenly grace,
and filled with holy light.
O lay aside each earthly thing
and with thy heart as offering,
come worship now the infant King.
'Tis love that's born tonight!
Coming from a school where we had more than 50 countries represented between the staff and students, I can understand why some might think that Jesus sees us as we see Him, with His traits the same as ours, whatever they might be. But truth is, He sees beyond our surface traits. In fact, He covers our traits with His, so that in the end, He sees our face like His, sees His righteousness instead of our sinfulness. 'Tis love beyond compare that was born that night. 'Tis the most amazing gift! I'm so glad that He sees us from His perspective instead of ours, aren't you?
A collection of random thoughts and images from the life of a busy retired educator who is working at finding peace and restoration while trying to make the most of every day.
Showing posts with label Nativity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nativity. Show all posts
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Some Children See Him
Labels:
children,
Christmas carols,
inspiration,
Jesus,
Nativity
Friday, December 24, 2010
A Christmas Hymn
A stable lamp is lighted
Whose glow shall wake the sky;
The stars shall bend their voices,
And every stone shall cry.
And every stone shall cry,
And straw like gold shall shine;
A barn shall harbor heaven,
A stall become a shrine.
This child through David’s city
Shall ride in triumph by;
The palm shall strew its branches,
And every stone shall cry.
And every stone shall cry,
Though heavy, dull, and dumb,
And lie within the roadway
To pave His kingdom come.
Yet He shall be forsaken,
And yielded up to die;
The sky shall groan and darken,
And every stone shall cry.
And every stone shall cry
For stony hearts of men:
God’s blood upon the spearhead,
God’s love refused again.
But now, as at the ending,
The low is lifted high;
The stars shall bend their voices,
And every stone shall cry.
And every stone shall cry
In praises of the child
By whose descent among us
The worlds are reconciled.
-- Richard Wilbur
The stars shall bend their voices,
And every stone shall cry.
And every stone shall cry,
And straw like gold shall shine;
A barn shall harbor heaven,
A stall become a shrine.
This child through David’s city
Shall ride in triumph by;
The palm shall strew its branches,
And every stone shall cry.
And every stone shall cry,
Though heavy, dull, and dumb,
And lie within the roadway
To pave His kingdom come.
Yet He shall be forsaken,
And yielded up to die;
The sky shall groan and darken,
And every stone shall cry.
And every stone shall cry
For stony hearts of men:
God’s blood upon the spearhead,
God’s love refused again.
But now, as at the ending,
The low is lifted high;
The stars shall bend their voices,
And every stone shall cry.
And every stone shall cry
In praises of the child
By whose descent among us
The worlds are reconciled.
-- Richard Wilbur
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
