From our fears and sins release us; let us find our rest
in Thee.
Born thy people to deliver, born a child and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever, now Thy gracious kingdom
bring.
---Charles Wesley, 1744
Advent is all about…well, you know…hope, peace, joy, and
love, right? This hymn says Advent is all
about…freedom…deliverance…a kingdom of grace. A topsy-turvy kingdom ruled by a child-king,
reigning not over us, but in
us. Free from what, we may wonder? We are
living in the USA, as free as any people in the world. But there are bars that
imprison us in a narrow world of small expectations and low risks. We are
prisoner to our fears and sins, allowing them to hold us back from full
participation in Christ’s kingdom of grace. In so many ways, we are far from
free.
But the reign of the Christ Child? All about the freedom, my
friends. In this kingdom, we are beckoned, day by day, to venture beyond the
limits we set for ourselves and each other. In this kingdom there is no place
for our small-minded fears and doubts.
Talk about your revolution….it’s independence day!
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