As we enter the season of Christmas, let us focus on why we celebrate this glorious holiday. As Christians, we celebrate it to commemorate the birth of Christ. It doesn’t matter if we have the date correct, let’s just be thankful that He was born as a man, died for our sins, and was resurrected to give us a new life and freedom. He was the bond servant who paid the price for our salvation! Jesus was born in Bethlehem, where Mary and Joseph had to return because a decree had been made that all people return to their hometowns to be counted. Both Mary and Joseph were of the house of David, as people married in their own tribe then. King David was a royal lineage and the one that was prophesied that the Messiah would come from. As Isaiah 11:1 says, “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.” Jesse was David’s father. Jesus was the incorruptible seed of Abraham. Matthew 1:1 “This is the genealogy[a] of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham:” It lists the lineage in the rest of the chapter. Sometimes I wonder what it was like to be the mother or earthly father of Jesus. Mary and Joseph had a great responsibility in raising Jesus. I would think they felt a need to protect him in some ways, even though they knew that his Heavenly Father did as well and so much better. But do we allow our Heavenly Father to protect our children as parents, those of us who are parents? If we have raised them with the wisdom and guidance from Jesus, then we should know that he is also watching out for them as well. Still, it is hard to let go. 
How hard it must have been for God to let his own son go to the cross for our sins! He didn’t have to, but he fulfilled all the prophecies by going. What amazing Love our Heavenly Father has for us that he would sacrifice his own son so that we can be set free. This is why it disturbs me when I hear people say that God is sending natural disasters like floods, tornadoes, or volcanoes to deal with people who are in error. If he sent his son to die, why would he send curses in the form of evil? Doesn’t love cast out evil? If God wanted to save the world, why would he condemn the world with natural disasters? If Jesus wanted to rain fire down on people, our world would have been destroyed long ago by all the people who turn in their grievances or their earthly unspiritual judgments to God. In John 3:17-18 it says, “God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.” Any separation from God is by one’s own choice and their inability to see the light, because he sent us a Savior to end our separation from Him. Yet still, those with religious knowledge, not necessarily spiritual, many times think they understand better. Jesus said to the Pharisees who thought they knew more than most, “Then Jesus told him, “I entered this world to render judgment—to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.” In other words, his judgment was not to condemn but to show them the error in their thinking.
Jesus came to bring love and peace, something our world needs in abundance! He told us in John 14 that he would leave us with his peace, a peace that the world cannot give. This peace in Philippians 4 is referred to as the peace that passes all understanding. It is a peace that the world cannot comprehend. A peace that allows us to face trials with a calmness that amazes others. It comes from a close walk with Jesus and guidance from the Holy Spirit. In Matthew 22:37-40, Jesus instructed the Pharisee who asked him what the greatest commandment was that there were two; “Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments. “When we love God more than anything or anyone else and put him first in our lives, our lives certainly seem to run more smoothly. Jesus told him that we should love others as much as we love ourselves. That might be a very tall order for those with big egos, and not so for someone who is depressed, but it still paints a picture. In doing those two things, we know the law or commandments which we should have hidden in our hearts, not use on others to condemn them. In Matthew 5:44 he instructs us, “But I say, love your enemies![a] Pray for those who persecute you!” How could we want to bring harm on anyone we are praying for? I certainly don’t read that he said, tell me who your enemies are so that I can send a natural disaster on them.
Let me leave you with these verses in Hebrews 6, “So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.” Yes! Jesus came to earth as a man, he made the final sacrifice and rose again from the dead so that we could be saved and the veil was rent so that we can enter the inner chamber, the most intimate place one can go to have an audience with the King. And if we flee to him for refuge, he will not turn us away, because he has promised us, he will be there. Jesus paved the way. Thank you, Jesus, for your sacrifice! We celebrate you this Christmas season, you didn’t have to drink from the cup, but we are truly grateful that you loved us enough to do so!
Katie Storme 