25 December 2009 – Christmas Day
Psalm 2, 85; Micah 4:1-5,5:2-4; 1 John 4:7-16; John 3:31-36

Out of many, one. That is the meaning of the Latin inscription on our money, e pluribus unum. That is also what today means, we whose ancestors followed after other gods that were not God now follow after the One, true God. The prophecy of Micah heralds that day, tells that the nations will come to seek the way of the Lord God of Israel. In Jesus, we who were far from God, strangers and enemies of the living God and His people, are now one in Christ Jesus. We seek to know the ways of the God who chose Israel, who chose Jerusalem as His earthly habitation, and who chose to come as an Israelite in the incarnation. His prayer for His followers in John 17 is that we would be one as He and the Father are one.

Jesus links obedience and belief. He makes claims about Himself, that He is sent by God, has knowledge of more than earthly things, is above all, and is speaking the words of God. More than this, the Father loves Him and has placed all things in His hands. Jesus says that belief in Him is essential. If we would know truth, we must receive it from Him. That doesn’t mean no one else can have a portion of the truth, but if we would know the entire truth it comes only through the One who later says, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.” Our call is to accept that claim and then transfer all our allegiance to Him, forsaking all others. Why do we need another teacher if this one is the truth embodied and there is no falsehood in Him? No one else can make that claim so even if they possess some truth, they don’t possess it all and they don’t claim that they are infallible with respect to truth.

Why did Jesus come? The incarnation is a love letter from God, delivered in person. He didn’t send a messenger like a prophet or priest to tell us He loves us, He came Himself. He loves us simply because He is God. His love tells us more about Him than about us. We are not lovely or loveable in ourselves. We are sinful messes who He chooses to love as creator and Father. Our love for God is in response to His love for us, always has been. The Israelites loved Him for His works on their behalf in bringing them out of Egypt and establishing them in their own land. We love Him because of what He has done for us in the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. Our response to that is part vertical and part horizontal, we love Him and we love those whom He loves. That love is our way of witnessing to Him and if we don’t love then we aren’t of God who is love. Lift up your hearts to the Lord this day and give thanks for His lovingkindness in not leaving us as orphans but declaring Himself our adopted Father who has sent His only begotten Son to die that we might share in the inheritance of eternal life.

Steadfast love and faithfulness meet;
righteousness and peace kiss each other.
Faithfulness springs up from the ground,
and righteousness looks down from the sky.
Yes, the LORD will give what is good,
and our land will yield its increase.
Righteousness will go before him
and make his footsteps a way.