“And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.” Luke 2:6-7
For centuries, even millennia, the world had struggled on since the debacle of Genesis 3. Humans all over the world lived in spiritual darkness, searching for something or someone who would relieve them of their burden. Their brokenness and frustration led to warring with others, warring with themselves, even warring with God.
For the chosen of Israel, God had provided a temporary and imperfect way to deal with all of that: a sacrificial system that required the death of an animal as a substitute for their death; the transference of their sin onto the lamb so it would take the punishment required by a holy God. But the Scriptures foretold of a chosen one, an anointed one, who would come and take the penalty and punishment once and for all.
So here in this little village of Bethlehem, everything changed. God, always in the world as spirit, now entered this world in the flesh. The Incarnation. This was a once-in-forever event; nothing like it before and nothing like it after. All of human history revolves around this birth: history before and history after. Jesus came into this world—and everything changed.
What is true on a grand scale is true on a personal one as well. When a person surrenders their life to Jesus and decides to trust and follow Him, Jesus enters into them—and everything changes!
This Christmas, take some extra time and journal how your life has changed since Jesus came into you. Christ in you. Amazing!
Jesus, thank You so much for entering into this world and into my world. I love You. Amen
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