Every year at Christmas I take some time to quietly reflect on the birth of my Savior. The birth of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, is the reason for Christmas after all. And though Jesus was most likely born in the Spring, Christmas is when we celebrate His birth.
Yesterday I read Luke chapters 1 and 2 and it was like I was reading it for the first time. I was amazed at the thought of Jesus being born of a virgin, at Zechariah's prophecy after John's birth, and at the prophecy of Simeon at the temple. I was reminded that we so often forget the awesomeness of this event and the reason for why it even happened. Even Israel at the time didn't have a correct understanding of the Messiah's arrival. He didn't come as they expected Him to and He didn't act as they wanted Him to. And now we, all these years later, even with the Word of God to direct us, do not have a correct understanding of His arrival or of what He came to do. Like Israel, we expect Him to act in a way that fits our desires and our understanding of who He is. We still fail to "get it" and many of us never will until Jesus returns to establish His kingdom.
Jesus didn't come as a king to overthrow the Roman government; He came as a baby meant to die. Jesus didn't come to make us happy and safe; He came with a sword and with the message "repent and believe." He came in such a way that it was completely different from what anyone expected or desired, yet the way He came was completely right. And His ministry, His message, and His death was completely right. Jesus never got it wrong, He simply did and said things that we, apart from Him, would never find acceptable. My heart swells with the knowledge that Jesus is so not what any of us wanted and that He still does not fit into our man made mold of Him. I am so over joyed that Jesus is not what we would have Him be. He is God and as God He is holy. He possesses wrath and grace, hatred and love. He is holy and He is just. He is, and defines what is, right and good. I am so thankful and humbled that He came as a baby to die and that He did that to bring me to Himself for His glory. Without Him, I would hate Him. I would oppose Him. I would never choose Him for myself. He chose me and He had grace on me when He could have condemned me. There is no better reason to celebrate Christmas.
O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel
No comments:
Post a Comment