Photo Credit: Martin Gommel
Every year as Christmas approaches, my heart bears a hopeful ache. The celebration of God lowering Himself to save us is profound. It is at once ominous and comforting. Remembering the good news that Jesus came to make all things new (Revelation 21:5) brings hope in the darkest of times. As we celebrate Advent, one song seems to resonate in my heart like no other.
"I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day," written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow speaks of the hope of Christ's restoring work in the midst of the turmoil of this broken world. The lyrics are profound:
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.
I thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.
And in despair I bowed my head:
"There is no peace on earth," I said,
"For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men."
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth he sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men."
Till, ringing singing, on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime,
Of peace on earth, good will to men!
Longfellow wrote this famous poem during the American Civil War. The reality of war was unavoidable to everyone, but things were particularly difficult for Longfellow as his son was severely wounded. This in addition to the unexpected death of his wife in an accidental fire.
He wrote this poem, not as an outsider to pain but as one directly familiar to loss and suffering. The idea of "Peace on Earth" should seem like a blind and false optimism to a man who had seen such loss. But, it didn't. Hope conquered as a candle in the darkness.
The hatred of a dying world was a mockery to the Christmas bells that rang of peace on earth. Despair seems inevitable when the world crashes down. Yet, Longfellow wrote of hope. Perhaps more comforting to me than any other verse in any other Christmas carol is the bell's response to all the evil of this world:
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth he sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men."
In contrast to the despair of hatred and death is the ever-ringing truth that God is not dead. He is not asleep at the helm of this world. Though the whole world rage, He holds it in His hand and stands in eternity working His plan to make all things new.
That hope is beyond all death, beyond all grief, beyond all fear. While the cynics of this world doubt and accuse, I see the redeeming power of Christ at work every day. I know first hand what it means that Jesus is making all things new. He is working His restorative plan to heal all things, and death does not have a chance. The evil of this world has harmed His children, and it cannot run far enough to flee His wrath.
I have watched Jesus put marriages back together. I have seen Him heal the sick. I have watched Him set the captives free against all chances. More than that, He has wept with me in my darkest hour and made my heart new. The reality that Jesus is healing the world is not merely a distant wish; it is something I see in action every day that I walk in His Spirit.
Every bit of restoration I see makes me wait in anticipation of the day when He makes all things new. The celebration of Christmas is not merely a holiday; it is the proclamation of hope for all mankind. The opportunity for you is to step into that hope.
Trust Jesus and become an agent of restoration in this world of despair.
