There was a man who was a believer, but became disillusioned about the church and especially about Christmas. (That’s easy to do, isn’t it!) One Christmas Eve there was a terrible storm, and he kept hearing a strange thumping noise. When he looked out the back door, he saw some birds running into the window trying to get out of the storm. He wanted to help them, so he went out to his barn and opened the door. But the birds wouldn’t fly into the barn. He tried lighting the barn, putting out some birdseed, and even laying bread crumbs like Hansel and Gretel. He tried shooing them into the barn. But the birds just wouldn’t fly in.
Finally he thought, “if only I could be a bird like them, then I could lead them into safety in the barn.” At that very moment, the church bells in town began to ring, and he realized what Christmas was all about. It’s all about God becoming a man to lead us to salvation.
Christmas is about God stepping out of heaven, and becoming a lowly member of the human race for us. Some groups deny this fact, but we must remember that Jesus always was, currently is, and always will be completely God. He is undiminished Deity, sharing all the characteristics of God the Father and the Holy Spirit.
Colossians 1:13-17
13 For
He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of
His beloved Son,
14
in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
15 He is the image
(exact image) of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
16 For by Him all
things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and
invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities -- all things
have been created through Him and for Him.
17 He is before all
things, and in Him all things hold together.
Look what the writer of Hebrews says about Him:
Hebrews 1:2-3
2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir
of all things, through whom also He made the world.
3 And He is the
radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and
upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of
sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
As we get closer to Christmas, we have to realize that at the same time Jesus was a little baby lying in a feed trough, He was the 2nd Person of the Trinity, the Son of God, holding all things together.
But He was also a
human being! Look at verse 3 above; He sat down! Only a human being can sit! Also:
Luke 2:52
52 And Jesus kept
increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
Only humanity can increase in wisdom; deity is omniscient! Jesus felt pain, hunger, thirst, fatigue, even death. Deity CANNOT DIE!
Hebrews 2:14
14 Therefore, since
the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the
same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of
death, that is, the devil,
So Jesus was at the same time completely God, and completely human:
Colossians 2:9
9 For
in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,
WHY? Why would God step out of heaven, become a lowly human being, and go through what Jesus went through? One reason is to be our perfect mediator:
1
Timothy 2:5-6
5 For
there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man
Christ Jesus,
6 who gave Himself as
a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.
A mediator is a person who gets in the middle. Jesus is completely God, and also completely human. That makes Him the perfect middleman for our relationship with God:
Hebrews 4:15
15 For we do not have
a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been
tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.
So remember this Christmas what Christmas is all about. Not family, not presents, not lights, not trees, but what is infinitely better. It’s about God coming down out of heaven, and becoming a true human being.
We now have a go-between with God who can completely understand everything that we’re going through!
Merry Christmas!