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Christmas
I Wonder As I Wander
by Reasons for Hope* Jesus
May
the Lord bless you as you raise to the new day.
May
He fill your heart with the joy of the season, a joy built on a hope that rests
in Christ Jesus, our Lord and our God (John 20:28).
It
is a blessed thing to awake to the new day in this Christmas season and to
think upon all our Father has done in sending His Son to save many.
“And Mary said, ‘My soul exalts the
Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has had regard for
the humble state of His bondslave; for behold, from this time on all
generations will count me blessed. For the Mighty One has done great
things . . . He has done mighty deeds . . . He has scattered . . . He
has brought down . . . has exalted . . . He has filled . . . He has given help” (Luke 1:46-55 – NASB)
From the text of Luke 1 I have noted the lead-ins, from the
record of Mary’s great oracle of praise to God, where it
speaks to what God “has” done.
Consider the text brethren, and ponder the “wonder” of it all!
Such wonderful acts by God as He, “the Mighty One,” worked out His plan to
provide redemption to a world lost in sin, to send His one and only Son
that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).
This
great work of salvation, worked out by the omnipotent God! As the old
Christmas song notes,
·
“I wonder as I wander out under
the sky,
·
How Jesus the Savior did
come for to die.
·
For poor on’ry people like you
and like I . . .
·
I wonder as I wander out under
the sky.”
This
Christmas hymn comes from the poor people of the Appalachian Mountains.
I
say “the poor people,” for no one knows from whom it
specifically originated.
As John Niles trekked the great mountain area of the
Appalachians gathering what he could of the words and music of their folk
songs, on a particular Christmas he encountered a young girl, seated
on a bench, singing an infectious tune . . . “I Wonder As I Wander.”
Out
of this greatly impoverished area a song was passed down from one family to
another, and it has become one of the most noted of Christmas hymns.
Someone has written, “Deeply
spiritual, incredibly thoughtful, yet obviously composed by someone of little
means and education, the lyrics embraced the joy and wonder of Christmas but
also lingered on the sacrifice of a child grown into a man that died on a
cross.”
Happiness
. . .
·
“When Mary birthed Jesus ’twas
in a cow’s stall,
·
With wise men and farmers and
shepherds and all.
·
But high from God’s heaven a
star’s light did fall,
·
And the promise of ages it then
did recall.”
. . . combined with sorrow . . . “How Jesus the Savior did come for to die” . . . Oh how “I Wonder As I
Wander!”
The song ends with the simple recognition of “the Savior” who “Mary
birthed,” a witness by whoever put its words together, that
this “Jesus,” this “Savior,” was “the King” . . .
·
“If Jesus had wanted for any
wee thing,
·
A star in the sky, or a bird on
the wing.
·
Or all of God’s angels in
heav’n for to sing,
·
He
surely could have it, ’cause He was the King.”
The Christmas season is
certainly a time to be in great awe.
In
our busy schedules, our running to and fro, may the simple words of
this seasonal song cause each one of us to ponder the “wonder”
of it all.
Have
a good day brethren . . . and as you “wander . . . wonder” at what
our Christmas celebration is really all about.
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