When Love Came Down to Earth

1 John 4:9

In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.

As we draw near to Christmas Day, our minds seem to shift a bit from the chaos and mayhem of the daily events towards a greater time of caring and love. Even in the midst of evil things still taking place around us, there is a sense of peace and joy that is wrapped up in the love of God.

Two-thousand years ago, in a small hamlet called Bethlehem, during a time great oppression from the Roman Empire in Israel, two young Jews made the journey from Nazareth to fulfill an edict from Rome to take part in a census. This journey was not only to fulfill a lawful act, but to fulfill a prophecy hundreds of years before.

It was in this small town that the promise fo God's explicit love for all mankind was delivered, It was the birthplace of God's Anointed One, His Messiah - Jesus the Christ.

Micah 5:2 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.”

Love came down from the glories and splendor of heaven's throne room and appeared humbly in an animal stable in human flesh, born to a teen-aged virgin named, Mary. The promise that God made in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3:15 had come to pass, and the world was changed forever.

This love, manifested in a baby's body, would turn the world upside down and inside out some 30 years later. For the distinct purpose of His advent was to bring God's plan of salvation to the whole world by way of His death on a Roman cross of crucifixion.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Yet, so many missed this blessed event and shook it off. Many rejected the notion that God would send a baby to do the Savior's work. But I also believe that those who laid their eyes on Him could not deny the fulfillment of the promise and the prophecy of the Messiah, who, in infant form was laying right before them.

The shepherds and the wise men from the East certainly were convicted of this truth. They all went away with gladness and joy in their hearts. When Simeon and Anna saw the Child, they did not need a prophet to tell them who this Child was. They knew.

Luke 2:25 And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.

Luke 2:36 Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; 37 and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. 38 And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

Today, even though we have not seen Christ with physical eyes, we have seen Him through the Scriptures. If we have seen Him, we can know Him. We can trust in Him by faith and by His great love for us - we wretched sinners - to receive this greatest gift of love and our salvation.

As you gather in your homes this Christmas, be sure you have received the greatest gift God ever sent you - His Son, Jesus. It is far more wonderful than anything that Santa Claus could ever carry in his sleigh.

Merry Christmas and God bless you all,

Pastor Tom