Lately, I have been reflecting on this Advent season. Those who have bowed to Christ as Lord and Savior know that we are celebrating the birth of the Messiah, the Consolation of Israel. This Jesus is not merely my personal Savior, as we in the modern church are so fond of emphasizing, but He is the Creator of the universe, He is the Lord of men and nations. The Psalmist reminds us that “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord” (Psalm 33:12). Isaac Watts’ wonderful Christmas Carol, Joy to the World, reminds us that the Christ came not only to “save souls,” but to bless nations. In the fourth stanza he writes:
He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love . . .
The West has tragically, through our explosion and exportation of atheistic and materialistic culture, reduced, or rather de-formed, Christmas into one massive consumer holiday. Spend, spend, spend! Get, get, get!
Sadly, this Christmas the world economic order is on the verge of collapse. The poor are finding it harder to afford food. American automakers, once the pride of American ingenuity and economic might, are on the verge of bankruptcy. The nations of Europe no longer know who they are; they place their roots in Atheistic “enlightenment.” The United States is rapidly forgetting that “blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.”
Why is this so? Because “enlightened” men say “there is no God in the universe!” But in reality there is a God in the Universe. He reigns through truth and grace. His laws and ordinances, when sought, understood, and obeyed provide a natural order that leads to the blessing of the nation.
So as we celebrate Christmas this year, let’s remember from whence Christmas has come, from the celebration of the birth of Christ, not only the Savior of men, but the Lord of the universe and of nations. It is again time for nations to prove the glories of His righteousness and wonders of His love!
-Darrow L. Miller
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