I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day

I first heard this song a few years ago when my friend Larry Lepard and I went to a Casting Crowns Christmas concert in Kentucky.  The entire trip was fun and the concert was really moving.  What hit me the most from the concert was this one song.  It’s become one of my favorite songs since hearing their version and I’ve had it planted firmly in my Christmas song rotation since then.  Read the words here and then I’ll discuss it further after:

I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play
And mild and sweet their songs repeat
Of peace on earth, goodwill to men

And the bells are ringing
(Peace on earth)
Like a choir they're singing
(Peace on earth)

In my heart I hear them
(Peace on earth)
Peace on earth, goodwill to men

And in despair I bowed my head
There is no peace on earth I said
For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, goodwill to men

But the bells are ringing
(Peace on earth)
Like a choir singing
(Peace on earth)

Does anybody hear them?
(Peace on earth)
Peace on earth, goodwill to men

Then rang the bells more loud and deep
God is not dead, nor doth He sleep
(Peace on earth, peace on earth)
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, goodwill to men

Then ringing singing on its way
The world revolved from night to day
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime
Of peace on earth, goodwill to men

And the bells, they're ringing
(Peace on earth)
Like a choir they're singing
(Peace on earth)

And with our hearts we'll hear them
(Peace on earth)
Peace on earth, goodwill to men

Do you hear the bells, they're ringing?
(Peace on earth)
The life the angels singing
(Peace on earth)

Open up your heart and hear them
(Peace on earth)
Peace on earth, goodwill to men

Peace on earth, peace on earth
Peace on earth, goodwill to men

To me this is one of the most powerful Christmas songs I’ll hear during the Christmas season.  I’m sure you could pull multiple different parts from this song, but for me I focus on the bells and their ringing, just like a choir singing.  If there is any time of the year that people are more open to the Gospel it’s now, especially a day like today.  The bells of the Gospel are always ringing, but there is a good chance that some may be hearing them now for the first time.  God is finding a way to get the lost to hear Him, just as He always does.  But there are people now hearing those bells and responding!

If that doesn’t get you excited as a Christian, then I don’t know what will.  God is ringing those bells and trying to get others to follow Him.  He is seeking that Peace on earth!  I don’t know about you, but I want to be a part of that!  And as you continue with your Christmas festivities and hear this song, I pray that you hear the words and that they affect your life.  I know they do mine every time I hear them.

I Am...

I am a man.

I am a husband to a beautiful wife.

I am a father of 3 great kids.

I am the main provider for my family.

I am the spiritual leader of my household.

I am an elder at my church.

I am an office manager at my job.

The reason I bring this up is because of a song I heard during the Christmas season. I’m sure you probably heard it as well. The version of “Mary Did You Know” by Casting Crowns is a favorite of mine. I feel it to be extremely powerful the way that they emphasize certain parts of the song.

The one part of the song that really hit me this year is when they ask Mary if she had any idea that the child she was carrying would be known as the Great I Am. Those two words, I Am, are very powerful in so many ways. Think about the fact that Jesus was born into the world to be more than any of us could ever imagine ourselves to be. He came into the world to encompass it all, and eventually die on the cross for every one of us! And kids today think they have pressure!

Anyway, this got me to thinking more about who I am, and how it could even start to compare. I started to think about who I think I am versus who the world thinks I am. Is the “I am” that I think I am the same as the “I am" that the world sees me as? How do I come across to others, and where on the list above does everything rank on someone else’s list? Am I truly doing my job as a follower of Christ if other people in the world see me as something not on the list way before any of the things I’ve listed above?

These are the things that I’ve been thinking about for the last month. My question to you this week: What is your “I am”, and how does it compare to the “I am” that you show the world each and every day?