Salvation is created album cover

It’s the darkest day of the year today, so what better thing to do than reflect on the Light coming into the world?

O come, o come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

One day, when Christ returns, we’ll be fully set free from the slavery of sin. No more struggles, no more failure. No more alienation or loneliness. One day Christ will come to take us home. We will be with him, and he with us.

O come, O Rod of Jesse, free,
Your own from Satan’s tyranny.
From depths of hell your people save;
Bring them in victory through the grave.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

Jesus went through death in order to save us, defeating death through rising again. But to save his people, he brings them through the grave, following after him. Like our King, we will experience suffering, darkness and eventually death. But death does not have the final word.

O come, our Dayspring from on high,
And cheer us by your drawing nigh,
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

Emmanuel means “God with us”. By his Spirit, he is with us now. When he returns, all will be made right again. Eternal day will dawn, and death’s dark shadows finally banished. Rejoice, Christians! Emmanuel shall come to you. And so we cry out with our brothers and sisters down the ages: O come, o come, Emmanuel!