Come! Adore Him!

“Come and behold Him,

Born the King of angels

O come let us adore Him

Christ the Lord”

Jesus, Creator of the universe, King of all time, the very Word of God coming to earth as a helpless baby, dependent upon a young girl for nourishment, hunted by cruel King Herod, under the protection of a poor carpenter. It’s preposterous.

Scripture says the angels watched in baffled amazement as God’s plan for the redemption of man unfolded. They couldn’t believe God would choose to become flesh and hang out with lowly man. To think the Holy One would allow those infinitely inferior to Him to birth Him, raise Him, and eventually kill Him seems outrageous.

And yet that’s what our Lord did. He left the splendor and perfection of heaven to walk among us, teach us Who God is, and save us from ourselves.

“Come,” the song says. “Come and adore the Lord! Behold the King of angels wrapped in cloth and born as man.”

And while something divine within me swells and longs to shout in exultant worship, I feel ill qualified to offer my adoration. All I can give and think and say and do seems miniscule in comparison to what He deserves and who He is.

Sometimes it is hard to come—to know how to adore.

What does adoration look like? How do I offer it to Something as big as God?

As I grapple with these questions, the face of my two-year-old nephew flashes onto the screen of my mind. He is grinning. His whole face is alight—brown eyes sparkling and smile free and full. His expression says, “I know you adore me, Auntie Paula and I’m thrilled by it.”

What amazes me about this memory is how little I’d done to illicit such a delighted response from the little guy. I’d simply looked his way, gazed into his big eyes, and smiled at him.

Adoration.

Perhaps that is all the Lord asks this day as well. No contrived worship. No cooked up accolades. No forced exultation. No struggle to give Him all He deserves. No fussing and worrying and feeling inadequate. Instead, just a humble honest acknowledgement of our love.

Perhaps Jesus is simply waiting for us to glance His way, look Him full in the eyes, and smile.

Maybe adoration is not so much something bigger than us, but an honest offering of our love.

Come.

Acknowledge how precious He is.

Let us adore Him.

~Want to think more about worship? I was hired to do a whole Rio Family Currents newsletter for David C Cook on worship. Check it out for thoughts on worship and ideas on how to worship with the family in this season of the incarnation!

A writer, speaker, and homeschooling mother of four, Paula Moldenhauer is passionate about God’s grace and intimacy with Jesus. She is published in book compilations, magazines, and e-zines, and writes curriculum for David C Cook's new RIO! line. Her website, Soul Scents, offers a free weekly devotional, and you can visit her blog at GraceReign. Paula serves as president of HIS Writers, the north Denver ACFW chapter. A devoted Pride and Prejudice fan, she loves good conversation, peppermint ice cream, and walking barefoot. Her greatest desire is to be close enough to Jesus to live His fragrance.