I’ll never forget the sound of the silence the night my Dad left me. It was a cold night south of Smith Lake and I was left in the wild with a rifle and a compass to navigate back to camp. To my dad, this was an initiation of sorts. To me, this was scariest moment of my life. As his flashlight dimmed into the distance I remember hearing leaves rustle under my feet. And then before long, there was nothing. No wind, no dimming flashlight, no warmth, no direction; even the stars seemed to hide from me that night.

To this day the silence of that night haunts me. What if God left us in the dark to fend for ourselves? What if after Adam sinned God simply abandoned us in the frightening silence of our sin without a savior?

Today I was listening to one of my favorite Christian artists, Bethany Dillon. In her song “You Are On Our Side” she rejoices in the fact that God didn’t leave us alone. When He was fully justified by leaving us in the “woods” to die for our sins He chose to send His one and only Son to become sin on our behalf that we might be the righteousness of God.

This Christmas morning I rejoice that God has given us more than a compass. In the fullness of time He gave the very Word and blood of His one and only Son that whosoever would believe in Him would find everlasting life. In the frightening “woods” we call our life, God has provided a light and a way out.

Rejoice, we have been rescued!

-Charles

“You Are On Our Side”
The orphan clings to Your hand
Singing the song of how he was found
The widow rejoices
For her oppressors are silenced now

You sit at the table with the wounded and the poor
You laugh and share stories with the thief and the whore
When You could just be silent and leave us here to die
Still, You sent Your Son for us
You are on our side

The runaway falls at Your feet
You are what he has searched for
The rich man is broken
When he stands beneath a sky full of stars

You sit at the table with the wounded and the poor
You laugh and share stories with the thief and the whore
When You could just be silent and leave us here to die
Still, You sent Your Son for us
You are on our side

You sit at the table with the wounded and the poor
You laugh and share stories with the thief and the whore
When You could just be silent and leave us here to die
Still, You sent Your Son for us
You are on our side

Still, You sent Your Son for us
You are on our side