Sing with Your Mind
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and though it’s early December it’s not too early to sing about Christmas.
Silent night, holy night
All is calm; all is bright
‘Round yon virgin, mother and child
Holy infant, so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace,
Sleep in heavenly peace.
That may have been a little low for you, and for me too, but it might be the first Christmas carol you’ve heard on the radio, Silent Night. But seeing how all the holiday decorations have been up in the malls and stores for some time now, this may well not be the first one you’ve heard. But as of today, December 4th, we are already into the advent journey of celebrating, I mean really rejoicing over God’s gift to us in Jesus Christ. And that, friend, is worth singing about any time of the year, right?
It’s one of the things I love best about the start, the very early of the Christmas season; I love the carols, I love the Christmas hymns. It doesn’t matter if you’re an alto or a soprano, if you can actually hold a melody or are tone-deaf; I tell you this is the season for singing. And aren’t you glad that the words to most Christmas carols are so Christ-centered; so full of Gospel truth? First Corinthians Chapter 14, verses 15 to16 tells us to not only sing with our spirit, get this, it says, “… I will also sing with my mind.” In other words, you’ve got to sing with your mind. You’ve got to think on the beauty of each word, the timeless truth and doctrine in each carol. Because when you do that, you’ll agree that singing Christmas carols can be a wonderful way to share the good news of God with us, Immanuel come to earth to be our Savior.
Besides, it was John Wesley who once wrote, “Have an eye to God in every word you sing. Aim at pleasing Him more than yourself, or others. Attend strictly to the sense of what you sing, and see that your heart is not carried away with the sound, but offered to God continually.” So, this season when you find yourself humming a carol in an elevator or whistling along in the mall, do it the I Corinthians Chapter 14 way: sing with your mind, think. I mean really think about what you’re whistling, ponder the words as you hum along, sing with your mind and rejoice over the Gospel truth given; because the words to Christmas carols are, indeed, so filled with the Gospel.
And you know what? So is the booklet I want to give you today called “The Christmas Story.” It’s beautifully illustrated. It’s all about the advent season, and would be great to tuck into a Christmas present for a neighbor or a co-worker who does not know the Lord Jesus. You can get your free copy at joniandfriends.org/radio; again, that’s my radio page at joniandfriends.org. And don’t forget this season when you sing beautiful Christmas carols sing with your mind. Think about what you’re saying, as well as, sing with your heart.
Music: Silent Night, lyrics by Joseph Mohr, composed by Franz Gruber, Public Domain.
© Joni and Friends
