How amazing that the divine Son of God would take all our humanity and
then take it all the way to the cross for us. In the
words of Gregory of Nazianzus, Jesus took a human body, heart, mind,
will and emotions so that He might save us in full. What a marvelous
Savior!
Tim Smith, a Bible College professor, explained why Jesus came as a man.
First, He had to come as a man to rule. The Bible teaches that a king
would come to save God's people from their troubles and set the world
right and this king or “anointed one” would also be known as Christ.
(Matthew 1:1)
Secondly, Jesus Christ became a man as messenger to reveal the Father
(John 1:14,
18).
No man has seen God in all His glory except the very unique, special Son
who has a special relationship with the Father, and He has clearly
explained Him.
Lastly, Jesus Christ had to become a man to redeem mankind. Jesus had to
have a body in order to pay the penalty for sin (Hebrews 10:1-18).
Without the shedding of blood there is no removal of sin.
It is that time of year again. December has come and with it all the joys
of Christmas. But what is the real meaning of Christmas? For many
people, Christmas is a time of sorrow. They don't have the extra money
to buy presents for their children, family, and friends. Many are
saddened at Christmastime when they think of their loved ones who will
not be able to come home for various reasons. Turkey dinners may be only
a wish and not a reality for some.
Yet, Christmas can be a season of great joy. It is a time of God showing
His great love for us by becoming a man. It is time to put Him lovingly
into our hearts; a time for forgiving, of healing and renewed strength.
He came to ride out the storm with us and other times He calms the
restless sea around us. Most of all, He calms the storm inside us in our
deepest inner soul so that we would believe and live confidently,
peacefully and happily like the man in the following narrative.
I
would rather live my life as if there is a God, and die to
find out there isn't, than live my life as if there
isn't, and die to find out there is.--Albert
Camus |
There was once a man who didn't believe in God and didn't hesitate to
let others know how he felt
about religion and religious holidays, like Christmas. His wife did
believe and raised their children to have faith in God and Jesus.
One snowy Christmas Eve, his wife was taking their children to a
Christmas Eve service in the farm community in which they lived. She
asked her husband to come, but he refused as usual, .. "The Christmas
story is nonsense!" he exclaimed. "Why would God lower Himself to come
to Earth as a man? That's ridiculous!" She and the children went, and he
stayed home.
That night the wind began to blow and the snow turned into a blizzard.
As the man looked out the window, all he could see was a blinding
snowstorm. He sat down before the fire-place to relax . Suddenly there
was a loud thump. Something had hit the window. Then a second thump. He
looked out, but couldn't see more than a few feet because of the
blinding snow.
When the storm let up a little, he ventured out to see what could have
been beating on his window. In the field near the house was a flock of
wild geese. Apparently they were flying south when they were caught in
the blizzard and couldn't go on.
They were lost and stranded on his farm, without food nor shelter.
Flapping their wings, they aimlessly flew around the field in low
circles. Some had apparently flown into his window.
The man felt concern for the geese and wanted to help them.
The barn would be a great place for them to stay, he thought. It was
warm and safe. They would be saved if they spent the night there waiting
out the storm.
He opened the barn doors wide. Then he watched and waited, hoping they
would notice the open barn and enter. But the geese just fluttered
around aimlessly and didn't seem to notice the barn or realize what it
could mean for them.
The man tried to get their attention, but that just seemed to scare them
and they moved further away. He went into the house and brought out some
bread, broke it up, and made a breadcrumb trail leading to the barn.
They still didn't catch on.
Now he was getting frustrated. He got behind them and tried to shoo (to
drive or frighten away) them toward the barn, but they only became
frightened and scattered in every direction except toward the barn.
Nothing he did could get them to go into the barn where they would be
safe. "Why don't they follow me?" he puzzled. "Can't they see this is
the only place where they can survive?"
He thought for a moment and realized that they just wouldn't follow a
human. "If only I were a goose, then I could save them," he said out
loud.
Suddenly he had an idea. He went into the barn, got one of his own
geese, and carried it in his arms as he circled around behind the flock
of wild geese. When he released his goose, it flew through the flock and
straight into the safety of the barn. One by one the other geese
followed it to safety.
He stood silently for a moment as the words he had spoken a few minutes
earlier replayed in his mind: "If only I were a goose, then I could save
them!" Then he thought about what he had said to his wife.
Sometimes God doesn’t change our situation because He is
trying to change our heart. |
Suddenly it all made sense. That is what God had done. We were like the
geese, blind, lost, perishing. God had His Son become like us so He
could show us the way and save us. That was the meaning of Christmas, he
realized. As the winds and blinding snow died down, his soul became
quiet. Suddenly he understood what Christmas was all about, why Christ
had come.
Years of doubt and disbelief vanished like the passing storm. He fell to
his knees in the snow, and prayed his first real prayer: "Thank You,
Lord, for coming in human form to get me out of this world and leading
me to a better one. Lead me to the safety of Your Father's arms."
God hears what is not spoken and understands what is not explained, for
His love doesn’t work in the lips nor in the mind, but in the heart.
By Tim Pedrosa
Don’t ever be afraid of
change. Always remember, God will never take anything
away from you without the intention of replacing it with
something much better. Sometimes, God closes doors
because it’s time to move forward. He knows we won’t
move unless circumstances force us to.
|