Here's a side to the Christmas story that isn't often told: Those soft little hands, fashioned by the Holy Spirit in Mary's womb, were made so that nails might be driven through them. Those baby feet, pink and unable to walk, would one day walk up a dusty hill to be nailed to a cross. That sweet infant's head with sparkling eyes and eager mouth was formed so that someday men might force a crown of thorns onto it. That tender body, warm and soft, wrapped in swaddling clothes, would one day be ripped open by a spear. Jesus was born to die.John MacArthur, God With Us
Today is Christmas. Along with all the commercialism and consumer-driven celebration, with the watered-down, seeker sensitive messages of Jesus born in a manger with cute animals standing by, reigns the fulfillment of the promise of God in Emmanuel: that God is with us. The Eternal Logos has broken into our world, for the sake of our salvation, to rescue a broken and hopeless people. The power of God is shown in the weakness and innocence of a baby, born the King of kings and Lord of lords. The love of God is shown in the miracle of the Incarnation, that a member of the Holy Trinity subjected Himself to the weakness of human flesh, for the purpose of dying a shameful death. The coming of Jesus Christ into our world means the beginning of our salvation. It means that the Kingdom of God has come here among us. It means that there is hope for the hopeless, light to break into the darkness, and deliverance from our sinful states. It means that God is with us, God is with us, God is with us, forever and ever, and will NEVER leave us or forsake us. This inbreaking of the Divine into our world is the most significant event in the history of creation up to this point. Because it brings the Light of the world to us. Emmanuel, Prince of Peace, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, JESUS! He is here! "A thrill of hope, a weary world rejoices!" REJOICE! Sing glory with the angels, for God was made flesh and made his dwelling among us. "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests" (Luke 2:14).
Rejoice on this day, for it celebrates our salvation and freedom and hope and life and the very power of the Gospel that changes lives, and has changed this world forever.
O come let us adore Him!
O come let us adore Him!
O COME LET US ADORE HIM!
CHRIST THE LORD!!
Amen, glory to God forever.
Can I please sum up the last half of this post to "Praise vomit!" in the best possible sense of course :D As soon as I started reading this I was captivated because we have been discussing the Trinity and the councils of the early/medieval church and we debate through the heretical and orthodox views on the Trinity. We were in the middle of studying one council when my professor went off on a tangent...not surprising of course!...but he was talking about how we focus SO much on Christmas alone when the truth of the matter is that Christmas should more importantly be an event that solely points us to the death and resurrection of Christ! I've been pondering this idea for weeks...legit taking over my mind! And he also brought up another interesting fact. He said that if a congregation is truly concrete in their understanding of the life and purpose of Christ, they should effectively be able to sing a "Christmas" hymn during the celebration of Easter/ Holy Week because they are able to tie together the two events; meaning that one without the other is absolutely incomplete. (I may have messed some of that up! Like I said, I've been throwing it around in my head a lot recently and it may have been shaken up a little too much lol) Thanks for posting that! It made my Christmas complete!
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