Christmas Is…
“And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.” —Luke 2:4-7
“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” —Galatians 4:4-5
The Promise was kept. Genesis recounts the story of our beginning. Our Creator King, speaks into being a perfect world and the crown of His creation is us, human beings. We were created with identity, purpose and belonging all grounded in our relationship to Him. But Genesis 3 reveals the deliberate disobedience, rebellion, and sin of human beings toward their Holy Creator God. God cannot abide sin—it is an affront to His holiness. One effect of Adam and Eve’s sin is broken relationships between human beings and God (Gen. 3:23), with one another (Gen. 3:7, 16b), and the world/creation (Gen. 3:17). In Genesis 3:15, we see both God’s right judgment for sin, and His grace and mercy toward humans promising that — one day — evil and sin would be defeated when a descendent of Eve would come to redeem and restore that which was broken. The rest of Old Testament is the unfolding story of God’s redemption which comes through a descendent of Eve, Abraham and his family. (See the genealogy in Matthew 1). There were thousands of years between the promise in Genesis 3:15 and its fulfillment. But…when the fullness of time had come, God kept His promise! Jesus comes to earth to fulfill the promise of God made so long ago. Jesus did not come to earth in the way in which God’s people expected. As a result, many missed the miracle birth that silent night.
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Is there something you are waiting on God to answer in your life? Keep looking to Him. He is faithful. He is active even in our waiting. The answers do not always come in the ways in which we expect, but they are the answers we need, provided by our trustworthy Creator. Rest confidently and bask in the beauty of His presence while you wait. God is ever-present and always faithful. He is trustworthy and true!
Rejoicing in Him!
Copyright ©2014, Susan Cady, susancady.com
