Luke 2:1-20
In due season the time came for Mary’s baby to be born. An extraordinary baby – God’s own Son – slipped into the world in a very ordinary way. This was an event like no other; God Himself had taken on human form and come into the world to live as one of us, yet most people did not even notice. Only a handful of shepherds on a hillside outside Bethlehem saw and heard a heavenly fanfare of angels announcing that this tiny child would save the world and bring peace between God and men. This birth was the culmination of a rescue plan that had been many centuries in the making. The baby was God’s answer to the dilemma of human beings who were alienated from their Creator and living under a curse, enslaved to sin and ruled by Satan.
As I reflect on the birth of Jesus, I am reminded of the opening line of a poem by Christina Rossetti: “Love came down at Christmas”. The mess that humanity was in was entirely of their own making. God had created a beautiful world for Adam and Eve to live in, a world that provided for all their physical, emotional and spiritual needs, yet they had chosen to go down the path of rebellious disobedience, which spoilt everything. But rather than abandoning the human race, God chose to step in and rescue them, at great cost to Himself. This baby had come from Heaven to Earth for one purpose – to be an atoning sacrifice for man’s sin so that people could be reconciled to God and fulfil the destiny for which they had been created. The Bible makes it clear that God’s motive for this plan was love.
Romans 5:8 (NKJV) “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
John 3:16 (NKJV) “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
Christmas speaks loud and clear about God’s love for us, a love from which nothing can ever separate us (Romans 8:31-39). No matter what we may have done, no matter what other people say about us or how we see ourselves, we are loved by God. We can be sure of that because His love is not conditional. It does not depend on us being, or doing, anything. It is God’s nature to love. He is the personification of love, He can do nothing else but love (1 John 4:8).
Every person in the world is looking for love but many find it hard to receive. Even among those who have received Christ as Saviour and Lord, there are those who do not truly feel loved. Many carry emotional wounds that make them feel unloveable. Some have learned through painful life experiences that love is dangerous and have put up defensive walls around their hearts to prevent them from being hurt again. But God’s love is safe; He will never let you down. He has demonstrated His love to us by sending His precious Son to live among us and die for us. He knows everything about you and He still says, “I love YOU”. As you reflect on the events of Christmas, I encourage you to open up your heart and give God access to every part of it. I can promise you will never regret it.
I pray “that you, being rooted and grounded in love, [18] may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, [19] and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:17-19, ESV)
Prayer
Father God,
Thank You for the incredible, self-giving love You demonstrated in sending Your only beloved Son to this Earth to identify with the human race and die on our behalf. I thank You that Your love is not just for all of us together but for each person individually, including me. Help me to receive Your love in the deepest part of my being so that I can not only be fully healed and restored myself, but be a bringer of Your love to those who do not yet know You.
Amen.
All references are from the NKJV unless specified otherwise.
Jill Partis
bearing-kingdom-fruit.com
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