Tomorrow, December 25th, is the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. His coming had been expected for many generations, spoken about with great hope, prophesied about and anxiously waited for. Jesus, the Messiah, was coming to save the people of God, the Jews! In the Old Testament, God’s people could not keep themselves out of trouble, because they kept walking away from their God, and choosing to worship and follow other gods. But they knew about the prophesies and waited anxiously for their salvation. Unfortunately, when He came, many rejected Him.
But God had a much bigger plan in mind. He intended to not only grant salvation to the Jews through faith in their Messiah, Jesus Christ, but to grant salvation to the whole world! In Luke 2:10-11 the birth of Jesus was announced to some shepherds out at night taking care of their sheep: “10 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; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ” God chose shepherds to be the first ones to hear the news about the birth of Jesus: He didn’t choose the high priest, or governors, or the richest man in the land. He chose the lowly shepherds. Jesus is Savior for all.
John 3:16 tells us: “16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” Whoever believes in Him: God intended salvation through Jesus Christ for everyone, not just a select few. He is an “equal opportunity” God: all He asks is that you believe in Jesus.
Jesus came to set captives free, to bring healing to hearts and bodies. When Jesus first started His public ministry, He quoted a prophecy from Isaiah 61:
Luke 4:18-19: “18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed,
19 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.””
Jesus went on to say that this prophecy had been fulfilled in front of them that day, speaking about Himself.
That is our Lord: anointed by God to preach, mend hearts, set free, heal, release and bring God’s favor to people. In order to do all that, He had to be born as a baby, grow up into a man and be the perfect sacrifice for us. That’s how much God loves us: He willingly sacrificed His son for us, who willingly gave up His life for us.
Do you know my Jesus? If you do, God bless you and Merry Christmas! If you don’t but want to, the Bible tells us that those who search for Him with an honest heart will find Him. Start by reading about the birth of Jesus in Luke chapters 1 and 2, (since it is Christmas!) and then read the gospel of John to understand His great love for us. I know that when you seek Him you will find Him. I pray that you will come to know Jesus, the Light of the world, as your personal Savior and have a personal relationship with Him. He will never let you down! Merry Christmas!
Living in the Light of the world 