It’s that time of year again…Christmas carols! You know what they say, right? When you start seeing Christmas decorations and hearing Christmas carols in stores, the 4th of July is right around the corner…but I digress, as our ever-growing consumerism is a subject for a different blog post.
Recently, my daughter and I were killing some time while we waited for my wife to buy a couple items at the store. We were in the car listening to instrumental Christmas carols while circling the parking lot, and the carol which bears the title of this blog post came on. I started to sing along, and the opening line hit me in a way I’ve never experienced before.
“O come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant…”
So, what about this phrase struck me? It hit me that while this is a Christmas carol, for those who have ears to hear it’s also an eschatological proclamation of the end of the age. What do I mean?
In the eBook I wrote and recently released on the theme of overcoming in the book of Revelation, I examined the call of Jesus to His people (the church) to overcome/conquer the soul’s three enemies—the world, the flesh, and the devil. We conquer by staying faithful to Jesus, avoiding moral and spiritual compromise, and willingly giving up everything (even our lives) for the sake of our allegiance to Him. And thus, the opening line from this Christmas carol hit me like a ton of bricks by reminding me of God’s call to triumph over all that would keep us from Him! This is not simply a cute song we sing at Christmas; it’s a declaration of the church’s victory and eternal rest in Christ.
And it reminded me of Jesus’ promise, that if we stay faithful to Him, He will bring us to His eternal kingdom (Rev. 2:7, 2:11, 2:17, 2:26-28, 3:5, 3:12, 3:21). This is what Scripture speaks of when it speaks of the church’s victory. It’s not a social/cultural victory, military might, or “taking back the nation for God” through power and politics. Our brothers and sisters in the early days of the church could do none of those things. Rather it means we as believers stay in the fight to the very end, walking with Jesus and keeping His commands, seeking to selflessly serve both our neighbors and our enemies with self-sacrificial love. In the midst of a culture, an empire, and a world which seek to draw us away from Him, we fix our eyes firmly on Him and never drift away.
The reminder from this Christmas carol, then, is to fight the good fight, keep the faith, and finish well. To not do so will lead to eternal ruin and misery. But doing so will lead to eternal joy and victory. This is why, historically, those believers who are alive on the earth have been traditionally called “the church militant,” since they are still fighting the good fight of faith. And those who have died in Christ are called “the church triumphant,” since they have finished their fight and have received the prize.
So then, during this holiday season (and beyond), let us stay in the fight, overcoming all that would hinder us from following Jesus faithfully. And let us remember the words preached and penned by the author of Hebrews:
“Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before Him, He endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
May we be those who are faithful, joyful, and triumphant.
Amen.