Nothing could have prepared my husband and me for the love we feel for our brand new granddaughter – even though plenty of our friends tried to make us ready for it. But the moment we saw her, our hearts beat differently.
I remember feeling this way when our sons were born. I marveled at how my heart could expand with more and more love for each of them. Such a revelation of the way love works made way for a better understanding of God’s love for me. And it slayed me to think that God felt for me anything like what was coursing through my body for my babies.
In that season, the eyes of my heart were opened to a deeper truth about God. I began to see Him as Father and myself as daughter, and His nature of love became more and more clear to me. Such awareness has worked to clarify my understanding of God and His motives, and it continues to be a shaping truth in my life. God’s nature is love.
God loves us.
Of course, this was the very message Jennens and Handel desired to deliver in their oratorio, Messiah.1 Immersed in an eighteenth century culture that had begun to lean toward seeing God as aloof, distant, and uncaring, these two Jesus followers set out to bring the whole truth of God’s nature – that He is approachable, near, and loving. After all, He sent His one and only Son to the world.
Alas, we get ahead of ourselves.
Movement Eight: Behold, A Virgin Shall Conceive
In his libretto (the lyrics), Jennens desired to demonstrate that Jesus was always the plan for redeeming the world back to God. So, he went to the source of such truths – the prophets of the Old Testament. Over three hundred prophecies about the Messiah can be found in these books of old, and Jesus fulfills every single one of them despite the fact that most of them are extremely odd, obscure, and unimaginable. But I suspect that was God’s plan too – to make it so impossible for one person to fulfill these hard-to-fathom prophecies that when the actual Messiah showed up, He couldn’t be denied.
Try this prophecy on for size:
“Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”
Isaiah 7:14 KJV
Remove from yourself the knowledge of how this prophecy plays out and think about how unfeasible it is for a virgin to have a baby. We might even flippantly respond to such an idea with a sarcastic, “It would take a miracle.” And. We’d be right.
It was a miracle. The angel who came to Joseph, Jesus’ earthly dad, told him how it came to be that Mary, a virgin, was carrying a baby:
“Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
Matthew 1:20-21
Matthew makes sure the reader doesn’t miss that this supernatural act of God “took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’” (vv.22-23).
God drew near to His creation, to the people He loved, and sent them the Savior He had promised – because He cared. Because He wanted to re-establish a relationship with humanity. This is no stand-off’ish god who cares only for himself. This is no ‘cosmos’ without a heart or mind or eyes to see our needs. This is no statue void of life or power or ability to make any sort of difference in our world or our lives.
This is a God who sees and knows. Who helps and offers hope. Who speaks and keeps His word. This is Love.
Movement Twelve, For Unto Us a Child Is Born
Leaping over several prophecies and movements of Handel’s Messiah, we hone-in on a verse made famous by the very oratorio we are exploring.
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.”
Isaiah 9:6 KJV
God speaks a lengthy, prophetic poem through His scribe, Isaiah, in the days when the northern tribes of Israel face the dark, dangerous threat of Assyrian invasion and looming exile (chapter 9). Even as God gives over the children of His heart to their rebellion and the ensuing consequences, He offers light in their darkness. A promise of a wonderful Messiah who will one day come with might and peace.
A promise from the heart of a Father who loves His wayward children.
A promise that demonstrates the Father’s movement toward those who have turned from Him.
A promise that will give the Father’s children hope for centuries to come.
A promise that came into being on a dark night in the barn of a Bethlehem inn during a Roman census of the first century. That night, Light pierced the darkness of the waiting world. That night, the Living Water poured Himself out as a baby boy.
That night, Love came down.
Everything we might expect about the birth of a king – in a palace, with great pomp and circumstance, for all the world to see and know – did not happen for the King of Kings.
Everything we might have envisioned as a savior of the world – strong and soldier-like, hulking and handsome, wealthy and well-trained – was not the case for the Lord of Lords.
But everything that God said the Messiah would be, this baby boy born in a manger fulfilled.
The Mighty God descended His throne in heaven to become a helpless human.
The Everlasting Father entered the world as a hungry, sleepy, needy baby.
The Prince of Peace drew near to the people He’d come to save with a cry and a shiver.
All of this He did because of the Father’s love for the world – for each and every person who lives in the world, then and now. He sent His one and only Son to us because He loves us (John 3:16).
Our Response
Like Jennens and Handel, we live in a world that would rather believe the ‘universe’ will respond to their needs than the God who created them and lived among them. We live in a world that would rather put their hope in their own strengths and ‘inner light’ than in a Father who loves them so much that He sent His Son to die for them (1 John 4:9). And if we aren’t careful, we’ll begin to absorb their cynicism and pride.
It’s why we are here. We recognize within ourselves the propensity to doubt and distrust God, to take unto ourselves the role of god because so often we function as though we know best. But as we read the words, soak in the stories, and hear the music accompanying all the truths, we know that God is God. And that He loves us beyond imagining!
The disciple John writes of God’s love – a lot. He talks about love fifty-seven times in his Gospel, which is three times more than the other three Gospels combined. Add to that forty-seven ‘loves’ in his first letter, and we cannot ignore the fact that John knew Jesus and God as love. Pure, holy, self-giving love. It’s why he simply states that God is love (1 John 4:16a).
Over and over, John points us to the love of God. He calls us to affirm and embrace what God has made known through Christ.2 He longs for us to “know and believe the love that God has for us” because when we do, we live transformed (v.16b). John knows that when we finally and fully receive the divine love of God, our hearts will beat differently. We will become that love.3
So, my friends, this is the moment when we choose to receive the love of God – wholly, fully. Like a new baby held in the arms of someone who loves her beyond words, we can rest in the assurance of our Heavenly Father’s love. No matter what our experiences have been on this earth, we can trust the constant, true, forever love of God. And as we soak that love in, we are moved to respond.
Just as Isaiah did in his day, we proclaim the truth of who Jesus is. We literally tell the story of a God who loves us, and we share how this love has shaped us. We express to any who will listen of the assurance and the peace that such love brings!
Perhaps we even turn up the volume of Handel’s oratorio to have them hear God’s words for themselves. Because when set to music, the gospel delivers the truth of God and the love of God at a deep, heart level.4 The love of God fills us, and the peace that surpasses all understanding flows through us. It’s a peace that no longer worries about who loves us, a peace that assures we are not alone. We are loved by One who dwells in us and walks with us through every day of this life we’ve been given.
His name is Immanuel – God with us.
Father God, we are deeply moved at the thought of how much You love us. Though we may never fully grasp how wide, how long, how high, and how deep your love is for us, we are grateful for your perfect, holy love. We are humbled beyond words to recognize the lengths You have gone to in order to demonstrate your love for us. Sending your only Son to live among us and to die for us is too great a sacrifice to ask. Yet, that’s exactly what You did. So now, as we take time in the midst of this busy, emotion-packed season to look back at the promises You made to the people who had rebelled against You – promises for a Savior, a Deliverer – gives us another glimpse at the depths of your unchangeable love. Of course, You kept your word in sending Jesus to earth as the Messiah You had promised – and this builds our faith for all that we feel and face here and now. We know we can trust that You will keep every promise to remain with us, to help us, to love us, and to be our peace. So, in this moment, we bow low before You with grateful hearts and receive your love. May we respond with your praises and peace as we move through these days of waiting and preparing. In your Son’s holy name we pray, amen.
(inspired by Ephesians 3:18-19; 1 John 4:18; John 3:16; Joshua 21:45; Psalm 18:30; Isaiah 7:14, 9:6)
Resources: I love sharing with you the books, podcasts, articles, and anything else that has inspired, encouraged, or taught me. These are humble offerings with no expectations.
- 1 – If you have not read my Introduction to this Advent series, I invite you to. It’ll help clarify who Jennens and Handel are and why they wrote Messiah the way they did. 😉
- 2 – This is paraphrased from a definition of ‘faith’ in the Greek as found on Biblehub and in Strong’s Concordance. “Greek pisteuó: to believe, entrust – equivalent to believe and embrace what God has made known either through Christ or concerning Christ: τῷ Θεῷ, John 5:24; Acts 16:34; Titus 3:8; 1 John 5:10; ἐπί τόν Θεόν, Romans 4:5; τήν ἀγάπην, ἥν ἔχει ὁ Θεός, 1 John 4:16; εἰς τήν μαρτυρίαν, ἥν κτλ., 1 John 5:10.”
- 3 – JD Walt’s ideas from his 9/22/25 Wake Up Call post
- 4 – paraphrased from this article by Charles Morris, 2020
- Our Embraced by Love playlist ebbs and flows between various Movements from Messiah and other songs that carry out similar themes. It is a great Christmas playlist, but it also is a powerful set of songs that deliver the gospel. Several non-Messiah songs carry the theme of God’s love coming to earth with the birth of Jesus — Chris Tomlin’s “Miracle of Love” and the Christmas hymn “Love Came Down at Christmas” top the list.
But be sure to listen to “Behold, a Virgin Shall Conceive” — it’s one of a few extremely short movements in the oratorio. This one comes in at 24 seconds! LOL. And, of course, don’t miss hearing “For Unto Us a Child Is Born.” It’s a ‘classic’ for a reason!!! - Each Wednesday I upload a “Teacup” teaching video that carries on the topic here. You can find all the videos on my Facebook Author Page, Instagram, and YouTube.
- Many of you have found me on Substack. Thank you so much! And, if you’d like to listen to (rather than read) these weekly posts, you can do so on Substack, as well. It’s easy to see and use the audio bar across the top of each post. While you’re on Substack, check out the ministry I’m blessed to be part of, the Devoted Collective.
- My monthly newsletter, The Abiding Life, goes to email inboxes the first week of each month to those who have subscribed on my website. I also post them on Substack. My most recent edition can be found there, and you can subscribe for future newsletters on Substack, here.
Rhythms: As my newsletter’s title infers, we seek to develop an abiding life in this space — a place where we can get informed but also be transformed as we learn to abide in God’s presence throughout our days. I like to think that developing rhythms is one way to aid us in our desire to become more Christlike. We’ll follow Charles Jennens’ lead and take hold of a biblical passage that points us to Christ as Messiah each week as part of our Advent preparations.
- This week our passage is Isaiah 9:6-7. These poetic, prophetic words flowed from God to Isaiah to the world hundreds of years before Jesus of Nazareth was born. Take them in. Consider how old these words are and how every one of them is fulfilled in Jesus. Then remember that the “zeal of the Lord Almighty” has accomplished all of this — for us. Because He loves us!
“For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the greatness of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
will accomplish this.” –Isaiah 9:6-7 NIV - We’re all called to share the truths about the work of Jesus. One way you can do that is by sharing this site and telling others your own stories of faith experiences. Believe it or not, we worship God each time we share our stories of faith! We use our whole selves to tell about our holy God!!
Featured Photo by Diliara Garifullina on Unsplash. “All the Bits and Pieces” Photo by Matthias Cooper on Unsplash.
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Grandbabies are truly a gift from God.
Yes, they are 🥹🥹
I only have one so far. She is so precious!
Me tooooo 🩷🩷