On this day of celebration, I wish you and yours a hearty Merry Christmas!
In Genesis 1, God created everything and declared it good (exactly what He wanted).
In Genesis 2, Adam chose the way of Death.
In Genesis 3, God promised a Redeemer who would set things right again.
The remainder of the Old Testament waits in agonized anticipation for fulfillment of that promise.
As Paul writes in Galatians 4:4:
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman…
Today we celebrate the Babe in the manger. But we also celebrate God’s patience to wait for the RIGHT time. We celebrate God’s commitment and dedication to provide redemption, regardless of how much it cost Him.
If you haven’t done it already, I encourage you to sign up for the study of Ruth. It’s free and will show WHY God had to send His Son to be born of a woman and live a life like us. Learn about the Kinsman Redeemer and what the great Christian writer C.S. Lewis called “deeper magic”.
“It means,” said Aslan, “that though the Witch knew the Deep Magic, there is a magic deeper still which she did not know: Her knowledge goes back only to the dawn of time. But if she could have looked a little further back, into the stillness and the darkness before Time dawned, she would have read there a different incantation. She would have known that when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitors stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backwards…”
— The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe
The book of Ruth paints this picture for us and takes us back to the way of Redemption that the serpent could not stop. Jesus was born in Bethlehem. It was the beginning of the end of the plan for redemption.
We who have received forgiveness will never fully know the price He had to pay – since He paid it for us. But however much we might imagine the cost, I think it was even more than that.
Today we celebrate the Babe in the manger.
But tomorrow… tomorrow we look to the Cross.
So get ready. There are one hundred and thirteen days to Resurrection Day. The nativity put us on the clock. The resurrection paid our debt. They are bound together these two celebrations.
So Merry Christmas to you from me. I’m glad we’re chatting about this. I can’t think of anything more important to talk about.
Dennis
