CHRISTMAS EVE AND THE ADVENT OF THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD

My wife and I went to a Christmas Eve service at a local church – the type where it is easier to find a leprechaun than a pew Bible. The church was packed and we watched them as they took Communion, wondering whether they believed that they were singing about the Savior of the world.

However, it wasn’t this way for the shepherds in the field on what seemed to be a very ordinary night. Suddenly the boredom was shattered by the presence of an angelic messenger and the glory of the Lord.

The lowly shepherds, who had been living with their sheep in the fields, were perhaps by now, covered with dew. Instead of filling them with excitement, this divine appearance filled them with terror. Why? This was always how people experienced the presence of God. At the manifestation of God upon Mt. Sinai, the Israelites were so terrified that they thought they would die. The entire Mosaic sacrificial system informed Israel that they could not approach God without being struck dead. After all, they were still in their sins – they were under a curse – and their holy and righteous God had not yet been satisfied. Instead, He was breathing wrath.

·       But the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:10-11)

They would no longer have to fear the presence of the Lord because the promised Messiah had already come, and it was time to celebrate. He would save them from their sins, something that the Law had been unable to do. The marriage between God and His people had begun. They would now be enabled to approach their Savior.

·       And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:13-14)

Peace? Yes! What kind of peace? Between God and His people! The Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) had finally arrived in the most unlikely way – in a smelly manger, swaddled with strips of cloth meant to wrap the dead. The symbolism was unmistakable to the shepherds – a Child born to die, just as the sacrificial sheep, which they had been shepherding.

It was now grabbing my heart.  He is also my Savior. I hadn’t been waiting for Him, but He had been waiting for me to come to the end of my hope. I knew that I was an utter failure and felt deeply ashamed of myself. It was so tormented that it was hard for me to come into the presence of others, let alone the presence of God. I so hated myself that I was sure that others hated me.

However, this suffering, this consuming shame, this insecurity has been eradicated by the advent of this Child who became sin for me. Consequently, He is precious to me. He must have also been to the lowly shepherds who had been invited into His presence to celebrate His advent.

What He has done for us is very tangible:

·       Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. (Hebrews 10:19-22)

Consequently, we need no longer dread the presence of God. We can stand tall, even in the face of persecution. We know who we are, and no one can take that away.

I wondered whether the congregants of this church were just going through the motions. Did they understand what they were doing here and who they were singing about? I wanted to scream out, “Do you realize who this Child is,” but I didn’t.

FORGIVENESS, OLD TESTAMENT STYLE

While there is a lot in the Old Testament about God forgiving Israel, I was surprised that I could not locate a single verse directing the Israelites to forgive one another.

Yes, there is a lot about Israel’s responsibility to care for the alien and even their enemies. For example:

·       “If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him. If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him.” (Exodus 23:4-5; ESV)

·       “When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.” (Leviticus 19:33-34)

However, not a word about forgiving one another as God had forgiven them! How amazing! It is as if God purposely left this essential provision out. But why? Perhaps because the basis of forgiveness - the Savior – had not yet been revealed, and that forgiveness was being reserved so that the Messiah would receive all the glory.

Indeed, in contrast with the Old, the New Testament glories in forgiveness – the forgiveness of God towards humanity and how it should trickle down to our neighbors.

To God Be the Glory!

I KNOW MY LORD, AND MY LORD KNOWS ME

Psalm 34:4-6

“I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears…

This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.”

I am that “poor man.” I am facing problems that are bigger than I am, and I fear, but the Lord has guaranteed to save me out of all my troubles. I haven’t see this deliverance yet, but I am looking towards it. I have no choice but to trust in my Lord. My eyes are upon Him.

I don‘t KNOW how others face life without this Hope. Do they close down their heart? Their mind?

I think back to my life before Christ, before 40 years ago. How did I make it from one day to the next? I told myself lies. I believed them. They were my drugs. I told myself that I had the strength to endure anything, that I had the courage to face any threat; that I had the character to find a way out.

These were lies, but I believed them. They blinded me, but they also sustained me. They were costly, but they paid the bills.

I can now face life without my blinders. How? Because my Savior is near:

·       When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:17-18)

I am that “brokenhearted” man, but I know my Savior and He knows me.

JESUS: THE ULTIMATE ROCKY

Scripture informs us that we are guilty of rejecting God, even if we have never heard the Gospel:

·       “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” (Romans 1:18-20)

Even if you are convinced that evolution is a fact, it is still true that we are "without excuse." Why? There are still too many other things that cry out, "God!" There are the elegant and immutable laws of science, the fine tuning of the universe, DNA, life, consciousness, and many other things.

Watching the latest Rocky movie, Creed, reminded me that God has even wired us up so that we will resonate to the themes of Gospel - the rejected hero and the "resurrection" underdog who seemed that he'd never be able to return.

Rocky remains such a hero in Philly that a statue has been erected of him outside of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. In fact, it is the leading attraction. Visitors wait in lines to be photographed in front of Rocky. Forget Rembrandt and Van Gogh!

Why do we resonate so with Rocky? He triggers something very deep within us - something that God planted there.

Jesus was the ultimate underdog, born in a stable and rejected, even by His own people. Nevertheless, He has become our ultimate hero, and, on some level, we all know it!

A SEEKER HAD ASKED ME THIS QUESTION

“Can a person who has heard the claims made by Christians, investigated Christianity, and found that the evidence led to the conclusion "Christianity is false", can this person go to Heaven?”

No! I know that this seems harsh, but here is the biblical explanation, as best as I can understand.

We are without excuse for not believing in the truth:

·       Romans 1:18-20  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.  For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

This is because we are confronted with God’s truths wherever we turn:

·       Proverbs 1:20-23 Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:  “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?  If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you.

What is God’s reproof? What we already know in our heart. That we are sinners desperately in need of the Savior:

·       Romans 3:9-13  What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin,  as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;  no one understands; no one seeks for God.  All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”  “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.”

Why don’t we see this? Because we are self-deceived. We believe only what we want to believe, as Jesus charged:

·       John 3:19-21  And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

Normally, we hate the light – the truth. We think that we are honestly evaluating the evidence when we are not. We prefer our own self-serving self-delusions.

I too had thought that I was seeking. I wasn’t. Instead, I wanted God in my own way. Yes, I prayed, but never for the truth. It is just too painful to accept the obvious – that we are sinners who need a Savior.