He Rules the World

As we finished singing "Joy to the World," my wife pulled over so we could gawk at the strands of Christmas lights wrapped around literally every inch of every tree in this poor soul's yard.

"Their electric bill must be ghastly," I muttered.

"How can a baby do that?" My four-year-old asked from the back seat.

"It was probably a mom or a dad who  put these lights up, son," I replied.

"No," he said. "I mean how can a baby rule the world?"

"That's a really good question," I said.

We don't watch TV in our house, but if we did, it would be an even better question. Today, yet another grand jury declined to indict a white police officer for gunning down an unarmed black man. I think that makes either three or four since September.

Meanwhile, in New York City, a black protestor shot two white NYPD officers in what he called "retaliation" before turning the weapon on himself.

In Pakistan last week, hundreds of school children were murdered by members of Al Qaeda. In Iraq and Syria, the Islamic State continues beheading or displacing all who stand in their way.

Meanwhile, here in Topeka, a bipolar man was sentenced to life in prison for kidnapping, raping, and murdering an eight-year-old girl from the projects. And every weekend, the world's most famous independent Baptist church continues picketing all over town with signs that scream, "GOD HATES FAGS!"

We are full of violence, hatred, lust, selfishness, and the very worst sorts of decay. And that's on a good day.

"This song isn't about Jesus coming as a baby," I continued. "It's about how he will take our broken world and make it new. He will redeem it and restore it to what it should have been all along. It will be changed, and we will be changed."

"How will he do that, dad?"

"I'm not real sure, son. I just believe he will because he said he would."

"Ok." He sounded like he was much more confident of my answer than I was. "Can we sing it again?"

We did. And even though I had some trouble with the third verse, I forced myself to sing it all the louder:

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground!
He comes to make his blessings flow
Far as the curse is found
Far as the curse is found
Far as, far as the curse is found.

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

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