This passage from Micah is absolutely beautiful to read on
Christmas Day! These words echo into the
future both for Micah's immediate audience and for us today who have the last
book of the Bible, the book of the Revelation.
Micah sees the day when Jerusalem will be the center of the universe and
nations will come seeking to know the God of the Israelites and to know His
ways and He will be God of all. John saw
the same when he saw the kings of the nations bringing their glory into
Jerusalem. The pagan nations have
something to offer the King of kings but only in tribute to His glory like the
Magi of old. Then, Micah turns to the
Messiah who will come from Bethlehem and in Him all will unite. He is from ancient times and in Him will all
the nation come together as brothers and He shall reign forever and ever. Hallelujah!
John is very clear that what you make of the child whose
birth we celebrate this day makes an eternal difference. Whether you understand Him to be a great
teacher or the incarnate Son of God who knew no sin but who took on our sin at
the cross and was raised to life again on the third day following is a decision
which determines your eternal destiny. There
is really only one decision of true moment that you must ever make in your life
and it is this one, whether you will celebrate the coming of this child into
the world today with all your heart for the rest of your life or not. Once you have made that decision to join with
angels and archangels, saints, shepherds, Magi, murderers, thieves, tax
collectors and other assorted sinners, you share in His eternal life through
the power of the Holy Spirit. Take time
this day to truly rejoice over Him.
I remember as a newly returned follower of Jesus reading
this passage the first year I learned about and decided to follow the
Lectionary pattern and being transfixed by these words as though I had never
read them in my life. John says that we
didn't love God first, that He loved us and sent His Son to die as propitiation
for our sins. The idea of propitiation
is appeasing, dealing with the wrath of God on sin and therefore on sinners. That Jesus lived a life of perfect
righteousness not for Himself but for us, and His death sealed God's judgment
on those who simply believe in Him was a concept I think I never completely
understood. I was constantly worried
about my salvation, that I might lose it over sin but what this passage tells
me is that sin had been dealt with already when I first believed. Because my salvation was and is dependent
only on the finished work of the cross I can't lose it because of my sin. It is always dependent on the cross not on my
performance and that comfort has made all the difference in my life, the
difference between slavery and freedom.
We can love each other because we have been set free from slavery and
fear!
No comments:
Post a Comment