Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room

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The last couple of weeks we’ve been looking closely at one of our favorite Christmas carols, “Joy to the World”, to see if we can uncover the thread of the story our Creator God has been telling through the writers of our Old and New Testaments.  Let’s take stock of where we are so far.  

 “Joy to the world; the Lord is come; Let earth receive her King.”  The carol announces the joyful news that the Lord, the Spirit of the Creator God we meet in the Genesis 1 and 2 creation story, has come to His creation at last, in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, the promised King, to redeem, rescue, heal, and restore what had been lost. 

 This leads us directly into the next line of our carol, “Let every heart prepare Him room…”.  Room in our hearts?  How does that fit with the story?  Well, we’ll recall that the Hebrew Scriptures from Genesis 3 on, tell the symbolic story of how humanity becomes spiritually disconnected from their Creator.  Their choice to mistrust God and put their trust elsewhere causes a spiritual brokenness, a darkening, an unsoundness deep within the hearts, minds, and souls of humanity and even within creation itself.  No longer whole, blinded and walking in darkness, often times driven by it and colluding with it, unable to see their Creator clearly or hear Him fully; humanity’s image of God and their identity as Image-bearers becomes obscured and distorted.  Their God-given, kingly purpose, when disconnected from His Spirit, becomes distorted as well, and instead of the Creator’s loving power and authority flowing through them to rule and reign His way, in partnership with Him; humanity’s rule and reign becomes tainted by darkness and becomes selfish, prideful, destructive, power-hungry, and violent.  

 The prophet Isaiah puts it this way, “Your whole head is injured, your whole heart afflicted.  From the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is no soundness…” (Isaiah 1:5 NIV).  “The way of peace they do not know…” (Isaiah 59:8 NIV).  

 Peace - a commonly-heard word at Christmastime.  Our Christmas cards and carols declare, “Peace on Earth.”  When we hear the word “peace” in English, we think of a lack of chaos or conflict, but the Hebrew word for peace means so much more.  It is the word “shalom”, and it means “wholeness, soundness, completeness”.  The corresponding word in Greek is “eirene”.

 “The way of peace they do not know…”  The meaning of Isaiah’s words echoes throughout the Hebrew Scriptures right through to the very words of Jesus Himself.  The hearts, minds, and souls of the Image-bearers are in need of rescue, healing, and restoration.  Their spirits need to be reconnected to the Spirit of their Creator so that they can be made whole and complete; so that they will once again be able to walk in their Image-bearing purpose; and so that His kingdom restoration “on Earth as it is in Heaven” can begin in them and through them.

 Jesus declares in the gospels that He is the One who has come to accomplish this – to bring this “peace” to the world.  In the Gospel of John, Jesus tells his followers, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27 NIV).  

 His offer of “peace” on earth is His offer of wholeness and reconciliation to humanity - His offer of “shalom” for our hearts, minds, souls, and spirits.  It’s an offer that is far more valuable than anything the events and experiences of this world can offer us.  It is a life-giving gift that flows from the Spirit of our Creator Himself.  Much like the word “joy” we talked about a couple of weeks ago, “peace” is something we can receive and hold in our hearts and minds even in the midst of the conflict, chaos, and confusion of the world around us.  The amazing thing is, this “joy” and “peace” in us has the power to impact the world’s conflict, chaos, and confusion in a profound way.  The Spirit of our Creator - His “shalom”, His “peace” dwelling in humanity’s hearts, minds, and spirits - has the potential to change the world.

 That brings us back to our carol, “Joy to the world! the Lord is come; Let Earth receive her King; Let every heart prepare Him room…”.  The carol pronounces that the birth of Jesus is a joyous, world-changing, event.  

 The Creator Spirit, the Lord God, the true King, has come in the person of Jesus to offer His healing, His soundness, His wholeness and completeness, His “peace”, to anyone who will prepare Him room - to anyone who will just open their minds and hearts to receive it.