Almost every year while listening to holiday music, a lyric of a familiar song will strike me in a different way. This year, it was “O Holy Night.” This song has been one of my favorites for a long time. When I was in elementary school, one of my classes sang holiday songs both at school and in a few other locations, like the bank. I wanted to sing “O Holy Night” but instead the teacher saved that one for her solo. She had a lovely voice and that is a hard song to sing, but that didn’t change my mind that I wanted to sing that song. So, I mouthed the words behind her whenever she sang. If we’d had cell phones or the internet back in those days, I’m sure someone would have recorded me and showed the teacher, and I would have been in trouble. Or I would have become a meme. Or both. 

Anyway, my love for this song goes way back. Imagine my surprise then when I heard it the other day on the radio and this line jumped out at me anew: “Long lay the world in sin and error pining till He appeared, and the soul felt its worth.” The soul felt its worth? Jesus was born and then the soul felt its worth? Really?

I know a lot of people, especially women, who struggle with feeling worthy deep in their souls. The idea that Jesus came so that we might feel worthy makes sense intellectually, but it’s so hard to accept. And not only accept, but truly believe it in our hearts. Because I know that confident little elementary aged girl singing to herself behind the teacher simply because she loved the song is hard for me to find most of the time as an adult.

I thought about Jesus’ words: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). Jesus came so we can live an abundant life. For the soul to feel its worth. When I read through John 10, however, I noticed that Jesus first tells those listening to him that the sheep will only respond to the voice of their shepherd, not to that of a stranger or thief to explain his relationship to his people. Then the author notes, “Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them” (John 10:6). So, he tries again.

He goes on to say he came to give them life abundantly followed by his story about being the good shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. I realized that Jesus had to tell the folks who were there and could listen to him in person about his love for them in several different ways because they didn’t get it. But he didn’t stop telling them in multiple ways. He didn’t throw up his hands and dismiss them because they didn’t understand.

And I think Jesus is still in the business of telling us repeatedly that he loves us. That he came for us, so that we would feel our worth. Let us try and settle into the belief that Jesus loves us and will continue to remind us of that love over and over as long it takes.