Jesus was not born on December 25th. He was probably born in late September or sometime in October. No one knows the exact month or day He was born. Some believe that because of this we should not celebrate His birth. But He came! What we do know is angels appeared to announce His coming. "But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." (Luke 2:10-11). "And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased." (Luke 2:13-14) This was declared to be "...good news of great joy for all" by the angels. In addition, the angels joined together in praising God in celebration of His birth! Not sure about you, but I see this as a heavenly celebration of His earthly birth! If the angels celebrated, I think I will too!
Another reason we should celebrate the birth of Jesus is because of the way He came. Listen to how God engineered His coming. He chose the virgin Mary to be the human vessel through which He would come. "Mary said to the angel, 'How can this be, since I am a virgin?' The angel answered and said to her, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God." (Luke 1:34-35) Because Jesus was conceived of by the Holy Spirit, and born of a woman, He was God and He was man. In other words, He was born of the Spirit and born of man. He was the God-man! No other human has ever been born...that was also born of God! Mohammad and all his followers cannot claim this. Buddha cannot claim this. The prophets of old cannot claim this. But we can claim Him! He is called the "Only begotten" Son of God. This means "unique, the only one of His kind".
A human had to be offered for the sins of humanity. But this human had to be spotless and the blood He shed had to be pure...not tainted with sin. Again, because of His conception, He was man and He was God. The nature of Jesus' conception and His birth determined His nature...sinless. Jesus had NO sin nature. Why? Because He was born of God! This made Him the perfect sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. You and I were born of Adam with a sinful nature. Because He was born (and born of God), we can become "born again" by the same Spirit! I'm on it now!
He is referred to as the "Firstborn of all creation"! He had to come first. He had to be God, and He had to be one of us...human. That's why I can celebrate His birth on December 25th, or June 25th, or October 31st! Because He came as one of us, and He came is Emmanuel, "God with us"! You know what? I think I'll celebrate His birth today...and tomorrow...and the next day...and the day after that...to infinity! How about you?
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for your comment. Please be positive and encouraging. Thanks!