Reflection #2 on "Adoration" by Newsboys  [song lyrics]

• originally released by solidsounds.org, 01/19/2004
• author: Suzy C.
• scripture reference: Luke 2:17-18,20

	From the album "Adoration: The Worship Album" (2003) Read the song lyrics...

I'm here with the others
Who saw the heavens testify.
Now I hang back in the shadows
I want to come close
I want to know

Have you ever felt out of place? Have you ever wanted to join the crowd but, for some reason, you just didn't feel like you belonged? You didn't feel part of the group? Well, I have felt that way. I've even felt that way in church.

I once heard a preacher talk about the testimony that intimidates. We've all heard one, the testimony that makes the person testifying sound like a super saint.

But these testimonies only serve to drive the humble, seeking heart away from God. Now, I am not saying that we should not share the good things that God does for us. But we need to make certain the testimony glorifies God and His grace and not our great faith or good deeds. We want to always point others to Christ not to ourselves.

In a new song, the Newsboys describe a shepherd at the birth of Jesus. He wants to come close to this Savior; he wants to know the truth for himself but he hesitates.

The presence of a holy God, even as a little baby, caused him to see his own faults and weaknesses. Jesus' purity and love always confronts our sin and selfishness. But Jesus came not to condemn us but to save us. We as His ambassadors need to present Him in an approachable way.

The shepherds who hurried to see this Savior became some of the first evangelists. Their method is clearly stated in the Gospel of Luke:

"When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds…The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them" (Luke 2:17-18, 20 NASB).

The testimony of the shepherds produced wonder in the hearers as they glorified God. They did not let pride lift them up. It would have been easy for them to say, "We're the ones the angels appeared to. We were chosen out of all the people to receive this vision. The glory of the Lord surrounded us. We must be pretty special!" No, they did not do that, they glorified God.

So celebrate the great things God is doing in and through you, always pointing to the grace of God and praising Him alone. Then join with the Newsboys and sing:

Come let us adore him
He has come down to this barren land
Where we live
And all I have to give Him
Is Adoration

--Suzy C.

Scripture Reference: Luke 2:17-18,20