The Sixteenth Day of Advent

The Sixteenth Day of Advent

Monday, December 18, 2017

For unto us a child is born, 
to us a son is given, 
and the government 

will be on his shoulders, 
and his name will be called 

Wonderful Counselor, 
Mighty God, 

Everlasting Father, 

Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

We sing these wonderful words often. They are scattered through our hymns. At Christmas we sing them or hear them sung in the Handel’s masterpiece, The Messiah. But I wonder how often we think of them and add them to our prayers of praise.

Wonderful Counselor. How thankful are we that he guides us, sometimes when we ask and sometimes when we forget to ask? Our Counselor encourages us to do the right thing when we face moral issues, gently guides when we struggle with family crises, lovingly gets us back on the right track when we get so busy we allow ourselves to wander from him. Do I praise him?

Mighty God. We lean on him when we are troubled, afraid, sick, worried. Are we thankful that his shoulders are broad enough to carry us when we are tired, that his power is great enough to change the course of things when we fervently seek him in prayer, that his authority is absolute in our changing world? Do I praise him?

Everlasting Father. Fathers are wonderful but oh, so mortal. We grow up depending on them and trusting them and believing that they will always be there. Then suddenly they are gone. How can that be? They’ve always been there, and our world seems incomplete. Not so with God. Everlasting he is. He was, he is, and he will always be. Do we show our gratitude that we never have to worry that he won’t be there when we need him? Do I praise him?

Prince of Peace. The chaos in the world makes us wonder if there is real peace anywhere. Wars, murders, famines, natural disasters, financial crises shatter our peace. Do we remember that Jesus came to be the Prince, to rule over all and bring us his kind of peace, a kind that this world may never understand? Do I praise him?

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. That’s who dwelt in that little manger on the first Christmas – God is amazing!

Father, you are indeed our Wonderful Counselor, our Mighty God, our Everlasting Father, our Prince of Peace. Thank you for these lovely words that reveal to us so much about your character and person. Thank you for coming on that holy night to teach us about yourself, to draw us to you, and then to provide through this baby a way for us to be restored in a holy relationship with you. Amen.

The Light of the World
prepared for Homosassa United Methodist Church, 2008,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator.