We celebrate because God has not hidden the most important gift of all
By Dean Collins
There may very well be things hidden from loved ones until they unwrap their gifts on Christmas morning. However, the prophet Amos reminds us that God does not keep secrets from his prophets. Prophets and Scripture have consistently revealed a Savior and Redeemer whose birth we celebrate at Christmas.
Man’s sin in the Garden of Eden brought our separation from God and devastating results for the earth. But God, in his great love for his creation, gave the first promise of one who would come to destroy the work of the enemy and bring salvation and redemption for everyone.
We see what God reveals to us, yet not everything God is doing. The prophet Isaiah reminds us that God’s thoughts are not our thoughts and his ways are not our ways. His ways are higher and always better than anything we could ever produce. And at just the right time, he reveals to us what we need to know and have to fulfill our purpose in his kingdom.
A path revealed
Just as our sins are not hidden from God, God’s path to restoration and renewal is not hidden from us. In God’s wisdom and love, he has revealed our way forward through the gift of a Savior. We celebrate his birth and wait eagerly for his return to complete the renewal and restoration of all that was broken by man’s sin.
Paul reminds us in Colossians of the mystery that is Christ in us, the hope of glory. And this mystery includes that Christ is both in us, for us, and for everyone. God’s gift of salvation is for everyone in every generation.
The beloved apostle John early in the first chapter of his Gospel reminds us of this wonderful truth:
“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”
It’s for everyone!
Sadly the world is filled with so much dissension and hostility. But even now, the Christ of Christmas calls out that everyone who believes in him has a right to become children of the King. God came to earth for everyone. This is really good news. This is information that we should shout from the mountaintop; a Savior has been born.
God may not reveal every detail we want to know about everything that is happening or will happen in our lives and in the world. But he has revealed the one thing that we long for and desperately need. He has given us a Savior who loves us fully and will provide for us both now and for eternity.
O come let us adore him, Christ the Lord!
Your time with God’s Word
Amos 3:7; Isaiah 55:8-9; Luke 8:17; Colossians 1:26-27; Genesis 3:15; John 1:12-13 ESV
Zhanna Danilova photo at istockphoto.com
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