What's the Deal with Christmas?

A few weeks ago, I posted what I thought would be the beginning of a series of post covering the lead up to Christmas, that most of us call Advent.  Well, that ADVENTure (see what I did there?) fell as flat as that last joke did, with the hustle and bustle of the season and the responsibility of getting settled in our new home.

So seeing as it's Christmas Eve, I thought I'd address a question a lot of people have today....

What's the Deal with Christmas?  (insert Seinfeld theme, here)

So as I've said before.  God had a plan, from the very beginning, of redeeming the world He'd created.  Sin had entered the world and distorted the beautiful, perfect creation that God put together.  He had to make atonement.  The first way this happened was through blood sacrifice by His followers.  The Hebrew people would sacrifice a lamb or other animal in order to cover the sins they'd committed or pay homage to God.  This went on for thousands of years.  This continued through the "400 years of silence" that I alluded to in my last post.

So therein we see one of the main reasons for Christmas.  Jesus Christ had to come to Earth.  He had to come to save the world.  He had to come to be the final blood sacrifice to atone for the sins committed by those who'd come before and those who have come after Him.

I know what you're thinking, "Hold up, He came here to die?"

Yes.  Yes.  Yes.

He came to Earth on a mission with a specific task.  He came to save you from your sin.

Before you tell me that you don't need a Savior, you've got to agree with me that you make mistakes.  We all do.  If you read the Bible you'll see that all sin is equal.

I know that many Christians today do not make it seem that way.

Every sin, in the eyes of God, is the same.  This is a call-out to Christians to begin to treat things that way as well.  That is another post for another day.

Jesus came to die for every sin committed by every person in every moment of history.  He was sent to here, by way of a virgin-birth, to die for these sins.  God sent Him to be born to die.

So there's the deal with Christmas.  Jesus was born to be our Savior.  He came to save you.  If you don't know him, you should!

At The Right Time

God's plan doesn't change.  It was and is the same from the beginning.  Spread His word and glory around the world.  He sets things into motion that affect everything about you and your world, as well as me and my world, and the world itself.  

Donald Trump's election, having surprised most of the country and world, did not surprise God.  World War II did not surprise God.  Nothing catches Him off guard or by surprise.  

Look back with me at an event from one of the earliest days of history. God has just created Adam, He is showing him around the Garden of Eden, and he tells them about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

 “And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.””(‭Genesis‬ ‭2:16-17‬ ‭NIV‬‬)

So look at the wording here, "...for when you eat from it you will certainly die."  It's as if God knew that something was going to happen, well of course He did!  Anyway, this event had to happen for the rest of HIStory to unfold.  

So the first man and woman sin, which sends the world into a spiral in which they will need a Savior to come out of!  From there, the Bible contains 365 prophecies pertaining to the coming of The Messiah.  The Messiah is the promised Savior of the world.  

We will return to that.  Let's look at the uncanny circumstances that had to take place in order for Jesus' birth to occur at the right time.  

During the time leading up to the birth of Jesus, the world experienced many power shifts.   

Alexander of Macedon, or to us, Alexander the Great, conquered just about the entire known world, about 300 or so years before Jesus' birth.  What's so significant about that? The fact that all the world was now under one umbrella and would soon hold a common language, Greek.  The Hellenization of the world would usher in new schools of thought where people asked questions and sought answers, and a language that was spoken by nearly everyone.  Yes even the Hebrew texts were translated into Greek.  

Following Alexander, the Romans took over the known world.  This created a period of "peace" known as the Pax Romana, or Roman Peace.  The world was under the watchful eye of the Roman Empire.  Rome built roads and connected lands that had previously not been connected.

So what does that have to do with Jesus? 

Well, when Jesus was born and throughout His life, He ushered in a new covenant.  No longer would YHWH be the God of the Hebrews, but He would be the God of all who believe, the one, true God.  His new covenant would be with all believers and open to all.  So, the common language and the ease of travel, access, and peace allowed for the words of Jesus Christ to be spread across the known world.  

So what God did was, He worked out His plan through all of history.  He took steps and action toward a goal, so that it could all happen, at the right time. 

What does that tell us today?  Well, one thing I failed to mention is that, before Jesus' birth, the voice of God and movement of His hand were not felt by his people for nearly 400 years.  Prior to this, prophets delivered messages from the Lord, but 400 years, total silence.  

Maybe you haven't heard from the Lord in 400 days.  Maybe you've prayed and prayed and looked for signs and not seeing anything.  

Maybe you're like me, for the last couple of years, Jenn and I have longed for a child.  The last year or so, we've walked the road of adoption, even more recently we've begun the journey of foster care.  We feel like that's where the Lord has led us.  Here lately though, full disclosure, it's been quiet.  We're waiting.  Nothing's happening. 

Maybe you're like us.  What we needed to be reminded of, at this specific time, Christmastime, is that God works on His clock.  He's not bound by our expectations.  He has a plan and he works it out.  He doesn't rush, He makes sure everything works out in its time.  He controls the wind and the waves, the rulers of the world, and the hairs on my head.  He's there, even when we don't hear Him or feel Him.  

He worked things out in the midst of 400 years of silence.  I know He's working them out in your 400 days.  

He's on His throne.  He's got this, let Him do it!