JESUS, LORD AT THY BIRTH....

The other night at our church Bible study, we opened by singing "Silent Night."  By the time we came to the last verse, my stamina had given out, and I listened to the others end the hymn with the words, "Jesus, Lord at Thy birth; Jesus, Lord at Thy birth."  For some reason, I am not exactly sure why, my mind changed the words to "Jesus, Lord and MY birth; Jesus, Lord at MY birth!"  That happens fairly often when I think of my relationship to God.  Instead of "Our Father which art in heaven," I find myself saying, "MY Father which art in heaven."  I wonder if anyone else experiences that Gestalt Switch when it comes to things spiritual? 

This reminds me of how Jacob spoke of God as being the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac, and yet, he had not spoken of God as being his God until after his dream in Genesis 28:10-15.  In verses 16-22, Jacob acknowledges God is "in this place," and called the place "Beth-el" which means "the house of God."  He stated that if the Lord would preserve his life, he would recognize Him as his God (v. 20-21). 

It is not clear, to me at least, when Jacob came to claim the God of his fathers as his own God, but it is clear he had when he blessed the sons of Joseph.  The Word says, "And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day, the Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth" (Gen. 48:15-16).  From that point on, whenever the names of Abraham and Isaac were given, Jacob's name was included (Gen. 50:24; Ex. 3:6, 15-16; Acts 3:13; etc.).

When I came to believe that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior, I experienced what the Bible describes as being "born again" (Jn. 3:3-8; 1 Pet. 1:23).  As an atheist, He went from being a myth, to being my God!  For me, it was at MY birth that He became MY Lord!

If Jesus is your Lord, try inserting the word "MY" in the Word and song!