In an interview, Lisa Clow remembered the circumstances of the unusual titling of this song. She was coming out of a year of pain comprised of a miscarriage of twins, financial worries and dealing with deep wounds of bitterness. Christmas was coming. For the first time she told her church that she wouldn’t be participating in the music. Lisa didn’t give them the reason; she just declined the invitation.
EVERYTHING HIT LIKE A TSUNAMI
And then came that ill-fated Sunday morning when they sang the traditional “O Come, All Ye Faithful”. Everything hit her like a tsunami. Overwhelmed with guilt, she contemplated how her joy had run out and that she felt like a “triumphant failure”. As she drove home in tears, she asked: “Is that really who is invited to come to Jesus? The faithful? The joyful? The triumphant? If so, then I am hopeless.”
COME ALL WHO ARE WEARY
The Holy Spirit brought to mind “Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). This is an extremely broad call to the bitter, broken, fearful. It summons those who struggle with guilt, who would prefer to hide under a rock and never be seen again. Jesus invites us to rest. To rest in His life, death and resurrection. We cannot find such a beautiful breathing space and respite with our own resources.
HIS PROMISE IS PEACE
This call isn’t to those who think they have life all figured out and are self-sufficient. It is to those of us who have dealt with reality and found we do not have the resources to go forward. “We have nothing,” Lisa remarked. “His promise is peace for those who believe.”
HE JUST SAYS, “COME!”
Maybe you are facing these holidays depleted. You are running on empty. Your joy departed the scene quite a while ago. Jesus calls to you in your state of poverty, regardless of whether it is emotional, mental, physical or spiritual. He just says, “Come!”
Come, weak and unstable, Come, know you are not alone. See what your God has done. Christ is born for you. O come, bitter and broken, come with fears unspoken. Come, taste of His perfect love, guilty and hiding ones, there is no need to run.
