For the last time this year, here’s another installment of Five Minute Friday. The group is taking a two week hiatus for the holidays, but Kate promises we’ll be back in action come the new year.

The prompt this week is ADORE. The time is set, so let’s GO …

O come, let us adore Him …

We’ve heard the song a hundred times and it will probably be worked in Christmas Eve or Midnight services next week.

But, do we come to adore Him? Do we even know what that means? Or have we diluted the message with rote repetition?

Adoration is more than just loving a person. It is treating the person with respect reserved for a deity or, at very least, royalty. We come to the cradle to visit with the Babe, but do we acknowledge His status as King? As God?

The shepherds came to visit with this Baby, more, I think, out of curiosity than reverence. At least the wise men saw an unusual new star in the sky, and knew it told of the birth of a special king. They responded with gifts … strange gifts for a baby, but as an afterthought symbolically appropriate for the King of Kings — gold as a symbol of kingship on earth, frankincense (an incense) as a symbol of deity and myrrh (an embalming oil) as a symbol of death. It was actually Herod who understood who this Baby was.

Certainly, Jesus’ contemporaries didn’t get Him… STOP

In a little over three decades, His message was distorted and disregarded and He hung on a cross under a mocking sign, “King of the Jews”. His people — the Jews of His day — couldn’t make the connection.

What about us, removed by 2,000 plus years? Do we come to the creche because of curiosity? Or do we come in awe? Are we there because we followed the star or the crowd? Do we make the connection between the crude stable and the crude and violent cross? Do we recognize Jesus as King … resting on straw?

The wish of Christmas isn’t the glitter or the gold or the presents. It’s not the story of the season. It’s coming to the stable to see a Baby reflecting the love and respect of our God toward us. We come to adore the Babe for who He is, but also knowing He is proof God loves us and respects us.

O come let us adore Him…

Well, that’s my slightly longer than five minute contribution. I invite you to visit Kate’s place (http://katemotaung.com/2014/12/18/five-minute-friday-adore/)to what my other talented writers have contributed on the subject … ADORE.

And I wish all of you a Merry Christ-centered Christmas and a Happy, Holy New Year.

THOUGHT TO REMEMBER: My to-do list for today: Count my blessings … Practice kindness … Let go of what I can’t control … Listen to my heart … Be productive yet calm … Just breathe.