The Once, Present & Future King

In the little village of Bethlehem,
There lay a Child one day,
And the sky was bright with a holy light
O’er the place where Jesus lay.
Alleluia! O how the angels sang!
Alleluia! How it rang!
And the sky was bright with a holy light;
‘Twas the birthday of a King.

How many kings have lived and died in the history of humankind? How many could you name? Countless kings have been welcomed into the world with processions, bands, and celebrations, only to have their reign end up as a footnote in an obscure history book or, worse, forgotten altogether.

A few of them might have been born in circumstances as humble as those of Jesus. Some of those would achieve great things. David was a shepherd boy who went on to have a long and glorious reign, but he knew his kingdom was a precursor to a greater one to come.

According to the terms by which we usually measure kings, Jesus achieved very little, but we still celebrate His birthday two thousand years later! Of course, He was a king before He was born and returned to a kingdom greater than any earthly empire after His death. His reign had, and will have, an eternal impact on the world.

In “The Birthday of a King,” a song possibly written for children, William Harold Neidlinger explains the Nativity in the simplest of terms: The child was born and the angels sang because this child was, after all, a King unlike any other. The second, and last, verse is dedicated to how much God gave the world that day and the “perfect, holy way” Christ left behind.

We can visit historic castles and battlefields and pretend we are walking in the footsteps of some historic ruler, but we truly walk in Christ’s footsteps, following that “perfect, holy way,” each time we pray or hold out a helping hand in the name of Jesus.

Some more charitable monarchs give alms to the poor on their birthday. Christ’s whole life was a gift - not just to the poor but to everyone who believes in Him.

He has had more than two thousand birthdays, and He’s not finished yet. Now there’s a King worth worshipping and a birthday worth celebrating!

And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. MATTHEW 10:7

(From Silent Night: The Stories Behind 40 Beloved Christmas Carols, published by Barbour Publishing, Inc. Used by permission)

In the little village of Bethlehem,
There lay a Child one day,
And the sky was bright with a holy light
O'er the place where Jesus lay.

Alleluia! O how the angels sang.
Alleluia! How it rang!
And the sky was bright with a holy light,
'Twas the birthday of a King.

'Twas a humble birth-place, but O how much
God gave to us that day,
From the manger bed what a path has led,
What a perfect, holy way.

DO YOU KNOW?
33 days in a calendar year equals to one month and 3 days, or to be more specific:
- 2,851,200 seconds
- 47,520 minutes
- 792 hours
- 4 weeks and 5 days
- 9.04% of 2019