Lately it seems we hear the word darkness used to express the days in which we are living. Maybe we can even bring the word darkness down to our individual lives as moms who have dealt with or are dealing with Children who are afraid of the dark. But suppose we take another look way, way back to the very beginning of time at the darkness.
Genesis 1:2-4 reads, “The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light.” And there was light. God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. The story of redemption starts in the garden and begins with a tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam and Eve were forbidden to eat from that tree but they disobeyed God and the darkness of sin entered the world. This brings us to the first Christmas verse, the first mention of Christ in the Bible: God said “And I will bring enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers.” In Genesis 3:15 God says to the devil, “Someone is coming who will crush your head.” This is what Christmas is about. This is why Jesus came to this earth, to overcome the darkness.
Now, let’s fast forward to centuries later, to the New Testament times. This same Spirit of God is about to hover over a virgin named Mary and the Archangel Gabriel, from the very throne room of God was sent to tell Mary that she would conceive and bear a son and she was to name Him Jesus. This is the first pronouncement of the gospel in the New Testament. And the young teenage Mary said, “May it be done to me according to your word.” Luke 1:38
So, what exactly is this Gospel that would come into the world that would dispel the darkness? Jesus is the Gospel, the good news. His birth, his life, His death and His resurrection are all good news. Jesus was born to die. He would go from the manger to the cross. That was God’s redemptive plan for you and me. There was no question for Jesus of what he would do when he grew up, no thought of being a doctor or lawyer. He knew the path that was set before Him.
Jesus came to earth, left His perfect heavenly home as part of the Triune God, and became a man. He truly is one of us. He was born just like you and I were born. He had to be fed, bathed and taken care of by his earthly parents, Mary and Joseph. Jesus grew up, setting the ruling class at odds because of His great and powerful knowledge… because He was God. The little baby born in the manger was given to us by God to restore our fellowship with God our Father. Jesus is the way, The Truth and the life. (John 14:6)
Then one day Jesus was forced to carry His own cross and on that wooden cross he was nailed. He suffered and died the most horrendous death imaginable. Why? Why did He have to do this? It was all for us. The perfect Lamb of God, the sinless Jesus, took all of our sins. They were all heaped on Him. He knew no sin and He gave His life for us who were dead in sin, and removes our sin as far as the east is from the west. But His death was not the end of the gospel story, but after being in the tomb for three days, Jesus rose. He was alive again. He had defeated death.
That is a huge part of the many benefits of the Gospel. Jesus was raised by the Holy Spirit ascended into heaven and sits on the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. One day if you are a believer, you will go to be with Him as He is preparing a place for you there with Him.
Why is this important? Well, the things are imparted to us because God sent His Son Jesus into the world on Christmas so that we would be justified by faith alone. The very second you put your faith in God, you get the righteousness of Jesus that is perfect. Our seat in heaven is secure because of the Gospel piercing the darkness. The Gospel is Jesus, who He is, what He does, and what He gives to us, and it grows and continues as He lavishes His love and grace on us every single day.
“In Him was life and the life was the light of men.” John 1:4
Christmas wasn’t only an arrival: it was a departure. Isaiah 9:6 sums it up perfectly: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace,” From the earthly perspective, a child was born, but from the heavenly perspective, a son was given. This is the central message of Christmas: We are not alone in this world. God came near. God came to this earth as a child, who became a man, who died and rose again. Jesus has always been there, and he says “Never will I leave you: never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5
As we see things going on in our world that make us afraid, we need to remember that God is in control. He will not abandon us. Even when we forget him, he never forgets us. That is the real message of this season.
We will receive many gifts this Christmas, some we will ask for and some will be surprises. Some will be good and some will be “regifted”. The one gift that will be given that can change your life is the one from above. This season let us focus on what Christ’s birth really means. It is the beginning of God’s redemptive plan for us. It is not about presents that we find under a tree. It is about his presence in our lives.
To think about: Could there have been another way to show the way God loved us, except through the birth of Jesus?
