12/15/2020
The day of the year is approaching when we will celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ, but without the sin that Adam brought into the world, and imparted to us, Christ’s arrival would not have been necessary, and His home would have remained in heaven. We honor this month the birth of our Redeemer by feasting and with great joy, not because He is paid the earth a visit, but because He defeated sin, death, and saved our souls.
“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—”
Romans 5:12 ESV
Jesus would have been worthy of our faithful praise, and adoration, even if sin had not come upon us, and He had remained in heaven, He was worthy simply because He is the Son of God; but by virtue of Adam’s vile sin we came to see in Him in ways that might have escaped us otherwise; one being as the King of kings...
“They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.””
Revelation 17:14 ESV
I am a citizen of the United States, and the state of Tennessee; during World War I a man arose from my state, and became a national hero. Sargent Alvin York grew up a poor farm boy who no one, outside his impoverished rural community, knew; he was just a simple man who was ruled by his strong faith in Jesus, and a member of the Fundamental Christian Church. When the war came along he showed himself to be courageous, and he became the most decorated American hero of his time. The point I want to make is that he was the same man before the war as he was afterwards. What changed wasn’t his character or faith, just the way America came to know him. The staunch Christian man who fought in the war was the same one who plowed behind mules in Tennessee, but no one would have known of his courage without the revelation of combat... Jesus was the same perfect Son of God before the fall of Adam as He was afterwards, but the sin in man made it necessary for Him to be born of woman, and He offer His life in obedience to God’s Will for our redemption. In this way we came to know Him as far more than just Lord. By His life, death, resurrection, and ascension we saw him in ways that would never have been obvious to us otherwise... the Messiah, and Jesus the Christ.
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Isaiah 9:6 ESV
So death came into the world, and life returned through Jesus Christ. We love and adore Him, and this month will celebrate His birth, because He is our Savior and redeemed us from the clutches of death and sin. Without Him men and women would be dying an eternal death every day.
“Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.”
Romans 5:14 ESV
But Jesus did come to us, and the prophesy of His coming was fulfilled in every way. The wonderful birth, the horrific death, the miraculous resurrection, and the glorious ascension... each of these revealing to us a side of Him, and an aspect of God’s glory, that we would not have known otherwise. So this month we feast, and celebrate the birth of the infant Son of God to the Virgin Mary, and into the lineage of David. We know full well what lies ahead for Him as we call out His name... Emmanuel (God is with us), Christ Child, Jesus, Precious Savior, and so many more. We hold Him up and sing his name in adoration because His life was given in grace as a gift of love to us all.
“But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.”
Romans 5:15 ESV
So Christmas Day comes, and we will celebrate the tiny Son of God. We will marvel at how the whole of God’s divine nature could have been poured into such a small child who suckles at the breast of Mary, and barely wraps his little hand around her finger. We will see in his eyes, that are affixed on her face, the love of God for all mankind. Are we ready to embrace Jesus, and honor God’s Son?
Prayer:
Father, thank you for the day your Son was born to us, and the plan that you had laid out from before the foundation of the world reached its fullness. Thank you for allowing us to hold Him in our arms, hear his gentle cooing, and smell His sweet breath. Thank you for loving us so much that you would send this, your perfect child, to suffer and die for us. How can we love Him enough today that by our efforts we can possibly ease His coming pain, or dull the thirst, and the weight of our sins, He will endure as He hangs crucified on Calvary? Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who loved us so much that you were willing to send your Son to suffer and die that we might live. Praised be your name for every moment of His infancy when we were blessed to hold Him close, and the days when the coming torment seemed so far away. You are merciful Lord, and your grace through Jesus overwhelms us. Today we envision the infant child, but soon we will see the lamb, and finally the groom. Have mercy on us, and strengthen our faith, as we wait on Him, and call out now the same words that were spoken in anticipation of the first coming of the Messiah... “Come Lord Jesus!” Father, take pleasure in us as your righteous children, and see us prepared by the blood of the lamb to dine with you forevermore.
Rich Forbes