On My Way: 2011

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:1-10 – ESV

I have been thinking of the meaning of Christmas, as are so many others, at this time of year. One more voice added to the cacophony of voices pondering, talking and writing about the meaning of Christmas. The giving of gifts, the decorations, the food, the drink, the time with family. Or for many, a time of sadness, no family, or only bitter memories of family, no gifts, no decorations. Aloneness. This is Christmas in my culture.

But Christmas is more than this, so much more. Christmas is all about God. It is about God “being rich in mercy, and because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.” Christmas is God coming to earth, taking the form of a baby, in order to redeem his people. After centuries of the Jews waiting and wondering, God made his entrance into this world he created. His only fan-fare was the chorus of angels who announced his coming to some shepherds. God came to his earth to redeem his people, the ones he chose “before the foundation of the world” Eph 1:4. He came to redeem...us!

Those whom he chose were the same as the rest of humanity - dead in trespasses and sins. DEAD! Dead people can do nothing. There is no movement possible with something dead. A dead body does not walk or run of its own volition. A dead body does not think or reason or respond to any stimuli. When a person is dead there is nothing that person can do. A dead person is utterly helpless, and without hope of ever doing anything to change that dead condition. After only a short time a dead body...stinks. Rot and decay eventually consume it. This is humanity's spiritual condition because of sin – we are all dead and it is impossible for us to do anything to save ourselves or contribute anything to our salvation. God came to his earth to save his people, to make alive those who were dead in trespasses and sins. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Every aspect, every moment, the very minutiae of Salvation is entirely of God! Even the faith it takes to respond is the gift of God!

This is Christmas. God came to earth to save his people because he loves us. We were dead in sin. Filthy, vile, disgusting, smelly, rotten, decaying sin. Our entire being, our very nature enslaved to sin, an affront to Him. Absolutely nothing of redeeming value whatsoever. But he chose us, according to his purposes, and he redeemed us. “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.” Eph 1:7-10.

The world celebrates Christmas. But those who have been redeemed by the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ celebrate our God coming to his earth to redeem his people.

This is Christmas. God's people, REJOICE! For our God has saved his people!