'Heaven was filled with His praises' - Advent Day 7 reflection

                                    One day when heaven was filled with His praises,

                                    One day when sin was as black as could be –

                                    Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin.

What was life like for Jesus before his virgin birth? Scripture tells us that Jesus had always been with the Father, that all things were created through Him and that all heaven indeed was filled with his praises. Any serious meditation on this point leads swiftly to the heart of Trinitarian thought – that Jesus was forever the second person of the Godhead, and thus truly God Himself. This brings into sharp focus the colossal gap between Jesus’ station in Heaven and His remote, lowly birth on Earth.

The one who was worshipped by angels humbled himself to dwell in a human womb, to walk for 33 years on the Earth and to submit himself to crucifixion, all for the sake of bringing humans back to God. Today’s song – an epic contemporary reworking of a classic American hymn – dwells on the wonder of these truths, and also what followed, namely Jesus’ resurrection from the dead and His future advent as our glorious king.

It can be easy at Christmas time to think of Jesus only as a baby, but in doing this we rob ourselves of much of the wonder of the advent message. For it was God himself who came to Earth over 2000 years ago, a truth that demands to be reckoned with by us all.

One Day When Heaven (Glorious Day) - words by J Wilbur Chapman, additional words and music by Casting Crowns