The first Christmas after I came to the Lord I was astonished at
really hearing the words of old familiar Christmas carols at last.
Suddenly I heard the gospel in them!
Singing the line from "O little town of Bethelehem" which says;
"where meek souls will receive Him, still the dear Christ enters in", and thinking "Oh, all those years I've sung that, but now I know it's true! Now it's really happened - Christ has entered into
me!"
And the last verse of "Away in a manger."
"Be near me Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay close by me forever and love me I pray."
I'd even prayed that now and then in the past, not sure He would hear, in fact pretty unsure He really was there, but it was a longing I had.
Many of these carols are little sermons, prayers, comforts or nudges out of comfort for those of us with a slightly church-ish background who didn't know for sure if there was something real behind it all but wished there was...
When we sing carols this Christmas, who knows how many visitors among us will hear the gospel through those words?
And so the seed is planted, then watered again and again, until one day one breaks through the surface, out of the mud, into the light, born again!
