1 John 4:9,10 From Manger to Cross to Empty Grave
“God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son as a sacrifice to take away our sins” (NLT).
“What Child Is This?” was written by an insurance salesman. Well, by the time he wrote this soul-searching Christmas hymn, William Dix was the manager of an insurance company, and a successful one at that. But Mr. Dix had an avocation; he was a writer whose favorite form of writing was poetry. Most of his poetry was kept at home in his writing desk. After a serious illness and a prolonged recovery period, Mr. Dix penned the one piece of poetry that he felt should be shared. That one piece of poetry was “What Child Is This?” When paired with the classic melody, “Greensleeves,” it eventually became a Christmas classic.
In twenty-four lines, the hymn takes us from the birth of Jesus through His crucifixion to His resurrection.
In verse one we find Jesus asleep on Mary’s lap, while angels and shepherds guard, sing, and praise Him. In the second verse Jesus’ meager earthly beginnings lead to God’s silent, for the moment, Word, the Christ Child, pleading for the souls of men. The horrific torment that this little babe, grown into Jesus, our Savior, endured for me and for you is made manifest. In verse three we are brought to the knowledge that this little Babe has become the King of kings, who brought salvation for us, and for this, we, today sing praises to Him for He has brought us great joy. And, finally, we are reminded that this King of kings, the savior of all mankind, left the glories of heaven to come to earth as a human babe in order to bring us all to eternal life with Him.
Perhaps reading silently and thoughtfully through this poem written by William Dix brings the meaning of the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus closest to our hearts.