A Christmas Story
For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6 NLT)
Let’s use our spiritual imagination to think about the backstory of the coming of the Christ-child—the child that was born to die.
Before the beginning of time, the Trinity, co-equal and co-eternal, planned salvation. The Father initiates the plan, the Son complies with it, and the Spirit executes it. The Father said to the Son; I will limit your equality and send you to earth as a baby. You must leave the grandeur of heaven and be born amidst common animals.
You will grow up as God and man, and unlike heaven, where you were honored and respected, you will be mocked and rejected on earth. You will die the most gruesome and shameful death on a cross, and at the height of your suffering and shame, I will turn away from you because I cannot look upon sin. Our love and fellowship that had no beginning will be broken, and you will die totally alone.
Jesus ponders these things, and then in His foreknowledge, he sees December 25, 2022; he sees all humanity, but His shed blood on the cross covers all true believers; our transgressions are not only forgiven but forgotten, just as if we have never sinned. He then looks further into the future and sees us in fine white robes around His throne, crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb” (Revelation 7:10 NKJV). He turns to the Father and says, I will do it, not because I must, but because I want to do it.
God is big enough to see the entire world but small enough to see just you and me. I believe the Lord would say to us individually this Christmas season, if you were the only one who needed me, I would still have climbed Calvary’s tree. As the songwriter wrote, He could have called ten thousand angels, but he died alone for you and me.
What greater gift could God have ever given to mankind?
Ken Barnes worked with Youth With A Mission for seventeen years, primarily involved in discipleship training and evangelism. He is the author of The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places, published in 2011 by YWAM Publishing, and Broken Vessels in 2021 through Kindle Direct Publishing. He holds a Master of Science degree from Virginia Commonwealth University in Curriculum and Instruction. He currently is a freelance writer.
Ken’s Website— https://kenbarnes.us/
Ken blogs at https://kenbarnes.us/blog/
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