A
couple of weeks ago, this tweet by Burk Parsons appeared on my timeline and
caught my attention.
“Satan would be quite pleased if
we kept all our attention on a baby in a quaint manger scene and forgot the baby
grown up bloody on a cross.”
As I’ve
considered this in the time since, I agree that this type of thing is exactly
what the enemy would want. Unfortunately we often miss the point of the manger, the cross,
and the fact that our Savior has risen. However, I’m not sure we fully understand
the purpose of the Nativity. Doesn’t it seem a bit odd and gratuitous that God
would send His Son as a babe? In his article entitled Evil, Suffering, and Calvary, Peter Kreeft shares a portion from
C.S. Lewis’ Miracles that well summarizes
the peculiarity of this.
“It was unthinkable, “the
absolute paradox” (as Kierkegaard calls it) that the eternal God should have a
beginning in time, that the maker of Mary’s womb should be made in Mary’s womb;
that the first should become second, the independent one became dependent as a
little baby, dependent for his very earthly existence…”
Could
God have sent us a 30-year-old Jesus – one that was fully-grown and ready to
begin His ministry? Well, yeah, but that’s the beauty of the Incarnation.
Christ was sent as an infant so that He would grow and mature and fully
experience humanity. Because He lived as one of us, Jesus knows what it is like
to be sore and tired. He is familiar with loneliness, grief, and trouble. As
the author of Hebrews reminds us in Hebrews 2:17, Christ had to become human in
every way, so that He might serve as our great high priest and make a sacrifice
on our behalf, to satisfy the wrath of God.
While
Jesus was indeed tempted, He was without sin. That’s why His offering on the
cross was sufficient and once for all (Hebrews 10:10). But here is a central
component in understanding the gospel: Christ not only came for an eternal hope
in glory, but also to offer a very real hope in our desperate need of 'right now'.
Because Jesus is familiar with our hurts and our pains, He can come to our aid
as One who truly knows. Allow your soul to soak-up the following scriptures…
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our
weaknesses, but One who has been tested in every way as we are, yet without
sin. Therefore let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we
may receive mercy and find grace to help us at the proper time. (Hebrews
4:15-16)”
“For
since He Himself was tested and has suffered, He is able to help those who are
tested. (Hebrews 2:18)”
The Nativity is not some superfluous sidebar in
the story of our Savior, but is rather an essential scene in God’s salvation
story. God’s love, His nature and character, is seen and understood through
Jesus. For “He is the radiance of His
glory and the exact representation of His nature (Hebrews 1:3).” In Christ, we see God’s grace to give us One who understands.
Through Jesus, we have an ever-present help in times of trouble. In Him, we
have hope, restoration and forgiveness. Because of the cross, we may now
approach the throne of grace with our deepest needs and in our darkest hours. Remember though, the redemptive offer of the Easter narrative is a fulfillment of the Father's thoughtful Christmas
plan.
“She
will give birth to a son, and you are to name Him Jesus, because He will save
His people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21)”
May we view the manger scene in the shadow of the
cross and experience the fullness of Emmanuel, God with us.
Merry Christmas!! May we all make much of Him this season…
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| matt@nbchurch.info Twitter: @FattMowler Facebook: TheFattMowler |
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