As this year comes to a close there have been many events this past year that may make us think about our world today. We have experienced terrorism again in our land both foreign and domestic. Looking ahead to 2016 we are preparing for presidential elections. This past year may have been more difficult for you and your family than any of these events!
As we look at our lives and society today I wonder how it compares to the year Jesus was born in the first-century. Rome was extracting heavy taxes on Palestine, insurrection was ongoing in the land against Roman oppression; corruption ran rampant among the kings of Israel; famines were common occurrences. Sound familiar?
Many people today believe the solution to our problems is more laws, some believe it’s less laws. I wonder if that would have sounded familiar to those living in the first century too. Interestingly enough the nation of Israel was looking to a messiah. The difference was they were looking for a military leader who would crush Roman oppression and be the great equalizer in injustice and suffering in the world. So what did they get? More laws, less laws. No. They got a baby born in some back woods barn by parents who didn’t even have a place to call their own. By most standards they would have been shunned by society.
God’s answer to the prophecy foretold by the prophets was the messiah; God incarnated himself in the Godchild, Jesus Christ. Why did he do that? If God thought we had a technology problem he would have sent us a scientist. If he thought we had an information problem he would have sent us an educator. If he thought we had a money problem he would have sent us an economist. But he didn’t. Because the greatest problem we face today is the same problem they had in the first-century and that’s a sin problem. That’s why he sent us a savior to bring the solution in forgiveness.
The greatest gift God has ever given to his creation is his Son Jesus Christ. When Jesus came into the world born of a virgin it was God fulfilling his promise to everyone, Immanuel (God with us). The greatest gift of all is the gift we have in a relationship with Jesus Christ. “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:10).
As you and your family prepare to celebrate Christmas, celebrate the gift God has given us in his Son Jesus Christ. The greatest gift we have received was already gift wrapped in swaddling clothes and all the angels proclaimed “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased” (Luke 2:14). God has already given us hope for today and all the days ahead through a relationship with him through his Son Jesus Christ, and you can’t go out and buy that at the mall! Merry Christmas.
