You might say the curse has spread as far as the East is from the West.
I held the hymnal with both hands and tried my best to sing the harmony part to "Joy to the World." The singing of all four stanzas at Wednesday morning Bible study had me taking a closer look at the lyrics.
For the past several years it seems certain phrases from familiar Christmas songs have leaped out at me as if I had never heard them before. Has that ever happened to you? We know it can happen with Scripture; we can read the same words for years, even have them memorized, but one day a phrase or passage seems to speak to us in a more pointed voice.
This particular morning, the repeated line "far as the curse is found" played havoc with my harmony as I paused in wonder.
Just how far IS the curse found?
As early as the third chapter of history, God cursed all of creation as a result of the disobedience of Adam and Eve. Sin and its consequences were allowed to spread ugly tentacles both far and near, sometimes nearer than we'd like to admit, creeping into every crack and crevice of our distracted hearts and the world in which they beat. You may even say the curse has spread as far as the East is from the West.
But even then God had a plan, a way forward to achieve what has always been his end goal: reconciliation. Where thorns have infested, where sorrows have grown, wherever sin permeates, he has covered the curse with a flood of forgiveness through a baby born in Bethlehem. He has made his blessings flow—not just seep or sprinkle—to draw both mankind and all of creation back to himself. Together may we shout his praise!
He has removed our sins as far from us as the East is from the West. - Psalm 103:12
For more on how Christmas carols can uplift us with the truth, read my article "The Weary World Rejoices," featured both here and here.
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