By Pastor Rick Renner
Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.
— Ephesians 5:19
Somehow in the midst of the busy holiday schedule, the youth group I attended as a teenager managed to find time to sing Christmas carols in our church’s local neighborhood. We’d bundle up to stay warm, and then we would walk from house to house to sing to people who stood on their porches to listen.
I’m not sure it’s still customary as it once was many years ago for people to walk from house to house to sing Christmas carols, but it remains a precious memory in my life from my younger years. We’d sing with all our hearts, trying to bring joy to people during the Christmas season. And of course, we saw it as a method of evangelism because we were singing songs about the birth of Jesus Christ. Afterward we’d invite people to come to church for the Christmas service.
Several years ago, Denise’s mother was living in an assisted-living complex and drawing near the end of her life. It was the Christmas season, and she was feeling very lonely. One night an entire family knocked on her door and asked if they could come into her little living room to sing Christmas carols to her. Her eyes lit up, she sat upright in her recliner, and joyfully welcomed them in. As the carolers sang, she joined in with them, singing with all the might she could muster. When the carolers finished, they hugged and prayed for her. Denise’s mother talked about that event for several weeks afterward because it had brought such intense joy into her solitary life.
Paul talks about the importance of songs and hymns in Ephesians 5:19, and although it is not specifically a Christmas verse, it certainly could apply to the Christmas holidays. It reads, “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.” The word “psalms” is the Greek word psalmos, and it refers to singing songs of praise. It depicts singing psalms with a stringed instrument, such as a guitar or something similar. The word “hymns” is humnos, and it refers to sacred compositions whose primary goal is to give glory and honor to God.
There’s just something about singing songs that glorify the Lord that releases joy and takes people to a higher level. Those who are depressed or lonely are uplifted when they hear and sing these kinds of songs.
So today I want to make a holiday suggestion to you: Why not put together a Christmas carol group this year and revive this old-time tradition? You need not walk from home to home. You could choose specific homes where difficulty and sadness prevailed for a time. Just knock on the door or ring the doorbell, and when those who live there answer the door, pour out your heart as you sing about Jesus to them. It may be just what they need to lift them up from the sadness and depression they are feeling. And you might even ask them to join you as you make your way to the next house!
What an easy and thoughtful way to make a big difference in someone’s life this Christmas season!