The wrong shall fail, the right prevail*

You’re probably familiar with the Christmas song “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.” It’s a well-loved classic that has seemed incredibly poignant over the years. In case you don’t remember it, the lyrics go like this:

I heard the bells on Christmas day

Their old familiar carols play

And mild and sweet their songs repeat

Of peace on earth, goodwill to men

And in despair, I bowed my head

There is no peace on earth I said

For hate is strong and mocks the song

Of peace on earth, goodwill to men

Then rang the bells more loud and deep

God is not dead, nor does he sleep

The wrong shall fail, the right prevail

With peace on earth, goodwill to men

These stirring words remind us that things are never quite what they appear. It’s so easy to get bogged down by what we see around us. But as John reminds us, “The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:17). The troubles we experience might make it hard to see God’s kingdom, but He is still at work in Christ reconciling the world to Himself.

The story of “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” 

In 1861, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s wife, Francis, died. She had been sealing some letters with hot wax when the candle she was using caught her clothes on fire. Longfellow tried in vain to put the flames out, but he was too late. He had burned himself so severely that he was unable to attend her funeral. 
Their 18-year marriage was Longfellow’s whole life, and he sank into a deep depression. In his journal the following Christmas, he wrote, “‘A merry Christmas’ say the children, but that is no more for me.
In 1863, his son, Charles, decided to join the Civil War against his father’s wishes. Any romantic ideas that Charles had about the war were quickly crushed. Letters home to his father spoke of death and the tragedy of war. In November, Charles was shot in the back. 
Longfellow traveled to Washington to retrieve his son and nurse him back to health. Most of that December was rough as Charles’s health was delicate. It was during this period that Longfellow wrote: “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.” And in this poem, he poured out all of the disenchantment he had experienced in the previous years. 
But through his wife’s death, his country’s civil strife, and his son’s injury, he recognized that God’s hand was still present and His promises were true. 

God is not dead, nor doth He sleep

There isn’t a country on earth that isn’t marred by strife and grief. But we believe that God is at work and that everything plaguing humanity will come to an end, and God’s kingdom will triumph. That’s why Jesus Film Project® is so committed to fulfilling the Great Commission. 

I want to invite you to experience the hope that Christmas represents. The wrong shall fail, the right prevail with peace on earth and goodwill to mankind.

Thank you for continuing to pray for and support financially my role serving with the ministry of Jesus Film Project.

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P.S. To listen to MercyMe‘s contemporary rendition of I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day on Youtude [with the words], simply click on the title.

*A repost from Jesus Film Project, December 16, 2020.