Merry Christmas
I tried to wait for advent to start, but I started listening to Christmas music on the way back from Thanksgiving. I love it. I don’t even remember what song I was listening to, but it really hit me that Christmas is a huge reminder of what sets our God apart from any other religion.
For one, His standard is higher. The God of the Bible demands a holiness and perfection that does not just include our outward actions, but cuts through to the depths of our hearts. He weighs our motives, examines our thoughts and evaluates their intentions, and watches all our ways. (1 Sam 16:7, 1 Chron 28:9, Isaiah 55:8-9, Psalm 9:8, Matt ch. 5-7, Matt 7:21-23, Heb 4:12, Eph 2:8-9) If you flesh that out it’s a little scary. It’s okay to let that scare you.
It’s okay because it allows us to see our need for a Savior. It’s ok because He knows that standard is beyond what we’re capable of and He’s got it covered. He knows that our simple existence as humanity disqualifies us (Leviticus 12, Ro 3:11,23, Ro 9-10). God knew it when He created the earth, and even before it fell He knew what He was going to do about it. (Eph 1:4, 1 Peter 1:20, Rev 13:8).
Because, another thing that sets the God of the Bible apart from the god of every other religion is what He did about it. He didn’t just make a set of unyielding requirements and maybe, probably accept those who got the closest. He didn’t just resign us to a lifetime of striving in insecurity (although sometimes we act like He did…but that’s a different discussion altogether). God didn’t simply decide that we weren’t really worth it anyway.
He came and got us Himself.
He even sacrificed to do it. Through His Son, Jesus Christ, He defeated the sin and death that broke this world and keeps us from Him (Romans 8). Our God freed us from the futile task of pursuing a perfection we could never attain by bringing us to Himself through Christ’s perfection (Ro 4:3-6, Ro 5:17, 2 Cor 5:21).
I’m pretty excited about Christmas. I love the lights and the decorations. I love giving gifts, singing, and making crafts and cookies, and I’m enjoying the whole season. But I want to make sure that when I attempt that gingerbread manger scene (I have Pinterest hopes) I remember the significance of it.
The moment that Christ was born was the beginning of God’s cosmic mic drop. Even the angels and Satan himself probably had no idea what exactly was going to happen (Gal 3:9, 1 Peter 1:12). It was the beginning of God’s declaration that we were worth it to Him and nothing was going to separate us from Him. Christ’s presence on earth was the fulfillment of prophecy (Luke 24:25-27,32; pretty chart), and with it God makes the statement that He is The Almighty and He keeps His promises. Through Christ, God is able to demonstrate the inconceivable depth of His love and reveal His greatness to the entire world.
Christmas is a reminder of why the God of the Bible is worth it. This God came to us Himself and did whatever it took to be our God. This God—His way is perfect (Psalm 18:30).