photo by Cristina Gottardi

Hello again readers, and Merry Christmas! Here’s a (relatively) brief article I wrote for a local event explaining what I believe Christmas really means. What about you?

  Well, it’s THAT time of year again: reindeer, hot chocolate, snow angels (or leaf angels, if you live in Georgia), and last-minute shopping. “Last Christmas I gave you my heart” is playing on the radio again. Old carols like “Silent Night” and “Joy to the World” are also streaming from car speakers and Alexa devices. We hear a lot about baby Jesus asleep on the hay, but what does it mean that Jesus came to save us? Where can we find hope that lasts after the last shred of wrapping paper has been thrown away and our best New Year’s resolutions have been broken?¹ To answer that question, we have to go back to the beginning – the very beginning.

  The book of Genesis shows why we are here on earth and explains where pine trees, pandas, waterfalls, and planets came from. From the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Florida everglades to the Sahara desert, creation proclaims its Creator. God created the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, to love and enjoy him and lead the world in worshiping him.² God created human beings and all his other creatures as a picture of his love. All that Adam and Eve had to do to enjoy friendship with God forever was to obey his good commands. But instead of obeying God, they chose to go their own way. When they chose their own way instead of God’s way, death and sadness and all kinds of horrible things came into the world. Going our own way instead of following God’s way is called sin, and it separates us from God. 

  We are all sinners, and we all need someone to save us from our sin. We have all broken God’s laws. God commands us to tell the truth, be thankful for what we have, turn away from idols, and follow God in everything we do. A person who has failed to obey one of God’s commandments has failed to obey all the commandments (James 2:10). For example, every time we sin, we are committing idolatry because we are replacing God with something that is more important to us than God. The consequence of sin is death, not just in the present, but eternal death that never ends. On the other hand, the result of perfect obedience is eternal life and peace and joy with God. The only way to stand in God’s presence is to be perfectly obedient to God’s commandments. This is because of who God is – he is perfectly holy. In other words, he is pure and set apart. There is no one like him. Without a substitute, or someone to stand in our place, we could never approach God’s presence or have eternal life. 

  None of us have perfectly followed God’s rules, so we are all in trouble. Thankfully, God did not leave us in our sin. He sent his son, Jesus, who is truly God and truly Man at the same time, to be a substitute for everyone who has faith in him. Jesus perfectly followed the commandments we broke, he bore our sins, and he paid the price of his own blood so we could be forgiven (Romans 6:23) . He did not only die for us, but he also rose again from the dead so we could have eternal life. And there’s more – Jesus’ work means that the whole world will be restored one day, and it will be even better than it was in the beginning, because Jesus will walk with us and stay with us forever. In the last book of the Bible, Revelation, the apostle John wrote about this time: “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away (Rev 21:4).”

  During the Christmas season, we celebrate Jesus coming into the world for the first time, and we also look forward to his second coming when he will make all things new. The second time Jesus comes, he will put an end to death forever, judge his enemies and the enemies of his people, and bring in the fullness of his kingdom. Will you be ready for that day? How can we know if we are ready? In the book of Acts, when many people were hearing the gospel, or good news of Jesus for the first time, they asked, “What must I do to be saved?” This question helps us understand how to prepare for Jesus’ kingdom and experience hope that lasts after Christmas, all year long, and for all of time. 

  To be saved, to be restored to peace with God and one another, we must repent – or turn away from – our rebellion against God, including our trust in the works of the law. Trusting in ourselves for salvation would be like trying to tow a truck with a tricycle (try saying that ten times fast)! Galatians 2:16 says, “we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.” True hope comes from leaning on Jesus’ finished work by faith. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8-10).

~ Emily Winslow Cox

Scripture references: The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016 by Crossway Books and Bibles, a Publishing Ministry of Good News Publishers. 

1. My pastor has made a similar comment
2. Several theologians have pointed out Adam’s role in leading creation to worship God