Unto Us

You know, I love this time of year. I used to hate it, but I've come to appreciate and love what this time of year is all about, the birth of the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ.

Christmas time is sort of part one in the complete account of Jesus' life. Notice, I did not use the word "story" because that would make it sound as if it were not factual, which, indeed, it is.

In Matthew and Luke, we get a detailed account of the Savior's birth and how it came about. From the Angel appearing to Mary and Joseph in separate events, to Jesus' foretold birth in Bethlehem, to the family's escape to Egypt. It's all there in the accounts of these two Biblical writers. They were inspired by God's Holy Spirit to document these events giving us all the necessary details. It's such a great start to the complete Jesus account.

We don't get details about Jesus' early life. I believe (and this is just my opinion) that if Jesus' early life were important for us to know about, our Father would have made sure it got into the accounts in the Bible. To me, if God doesn't think it's important, then I don't. Besides it gives us something to talk about when we get to heaven.

Jesus' birth heralds in God's redemption plan for the world. It put it in motion. We all have sinned. We're deserving of eternal separation from God. Although, the world would say differently, man is inherently sinful, not good. That doesn't mean we're all murderers, but we all do something or have done something to break God's laws. However, and thankfully, we're not condemned to hell for eternity if we admit we are sinful and ask God to forgive our sins, to change us and come and live inside us through His Holy Spirit.

We have to give up everything and in doing so, we gain everything. Seems paradoxical, I know, but listen. When we give up all the sin in our lives, all the control in our lives and all the stuff in our lives and hand it over to Jesus, then we become members of God's family and co-inheritors with Jesus. And we receive eternal life with God in heaven and there's nothing on earth that even comes close to that, my friends. That is everything! Spending eternity with God where there is no sorry, no pain, no crisis, no heartache, no death is more than we could ever imagine. Think of your life and all the baggage that you carry around and how exhausting it can be. Now, think of being carefree, pain free, crisis free, sorrow free for the rest of eternity! I would take that for a month, much less eternity. That is what we get when we give our lives to the One, the Redeemer, the Savior. But, we have to give up everything to gain all that. Seems like a small price to pay, doesn't it?

All of this from a little child. One whose birth we celebrate this time of year. Not just any child. Not some made-up child. A real child. God in the flesh. The Savior, Jesus Christ.

Unto us a child was given. That is Jesus, the Christ, the Redeemer, Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Emanuel.

Christmas time is the time of giving. Give Jesus your life today and get the greatest gift of all, eternal life in God's family!

Have a blessed and glorious Christmas.

God bless you and may God bless America!