Yesterday, as I was working in the kitchen and listening to a little Christmas music playing in the background, I began singing along to an old Christmas-favorite, “Oh, come let us adore Him! Oh, come let us adore Him! Oh, come let us adore Him! Christ…the Lord!”
Advent – a season to focus on adoration of our Savior and Lord… So, I refreshed my memory on just what it means to “adore” someone. I’ll refresh your memory, too. It means “to love intensely, to worship, speak words of admiration and reverence; to regard with feelings of respect and reverence; to consider as hallowed or exalted (I can’t credit any one resource as this is a combination of Hebrew, Greek, and the WordBook Dictionary App).” It was the words I italicized above that struck my heart – to speak, out loud, words of adoration. The realization hit that I seldom do just that… I have gotten in the habit of being thankful; but that’s not adoration. Adoration involves character – WHO YOU ARE. Adoration means I tell you just what I love about you. It’s not what I love about what you do FOR ME, but who you are TO ME! That’s a big difference. It seems lately, that there’s been this big push on gratitude (and rightly so, we do tend to be an ungrateful people); but, so much focus, that perhaps we’ve forgotten adoration.
I read this statement a couple of years ago in a book on marriage, and it stuck: “We can’t love someone intimately, when we are always thinking about them, or talking about them, negatively.” ** Not only is this true in marriage, it’s true in all relationships, especially our relationship with Jesus. Remembering to speak words of adoration will always lead us to deeper intimacy! And, I long for the delights that come with exploring the depths of my relationship with my Savior!
So, as I sang out those words, “Oh, come let us adore Him,” there was a quiet Spirit-whisper of invitation – “Come…” I did. In the midst of a meal preparation, I stopped and sat at my table, and began to work on an activity I learned years ago in Mom’s In Touch: write a list about who God is for every letter of the alphabet. And, I began to speak it aloud, looking heavenward. Gotta admit, it felt awkward. That just speaks to how foreign adoration has become. Oh, that it may not be just a random, Advent event. May this become the spirit of my soul, to long to come, often, and adore Him…Christ the Lord!
I wonder this morning…might this be our Lord’s response when we come?
*(I’m sure I’m not quoting this exactly, but thank you, Paul David Tripp – these words have served me well!)