December 26 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

We really should "harken" a little better when the "herald angels" sing. The angels never sang "glory to the newborn king." That's because the newborn king had taken off his royal robes. He had set his glory aside, coming not to be served but to serve. Nor did the angels mention the "goodwill to men" so many Christmas card poets celebrate.

But the angels did sing "Glory to God." God must have told them to teach the people of the world how to sing. Then the angels started with the line that came most naturally to them: "Glory to God in the highest."

We have a hard time learning this first line.

God's first commandment is this: "You shall have no other gods before me." In other words, "Glory to God in the highest." And the first thing we are taught to pray is "Hallowed be your name." In other words, "Glory to God in the highest."

Today people often greet each other by asking, "Did you have a nice Christmas?" We could turn that into a question about spiritual life and ask, "Does it come a little easier, now, to say, 'Glory to God in the highest?' "

God has brought salvation to the world. And the angels have become the choir directors of creation. The whole created world must learn to sing "Glory to God in the highest."

The result of Jesus' coming into the hearts of believers is a reordering of their lives. From now on, God is first. The whole of our lives are reorganized to bring glory to him. This transformation is the new song we are slowly learning to sing.

Even the angels must be disappointed by the world's singing. But they too must wait until Christ has finished his work. And when that day comes, when God is "all in all" or "everything to everybody," the whole cosmos will sing one song. All people, all creation, and all angels will sing "Glory to God in the highest."

REFLECTIONS

After your Christmas celebration is it easier to sing "Glory to God in the highest"?

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published by Paideia Press in 1977. This updated edition is copyright 2009 by Faith Alive Christian Resources. You can order a copy of this revised version of the book directly from the publisher.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this updated edition of Daylight are from the Holy Bible: Today's New International Version copyright 2001, 2005 by the International Bible Society.