Christmas Day Meditation
Luke 2:11

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ!  In the name of Jesus, who came to save us, dear friends in Christ, the birth of a child is an exciting time, isn’t it?  A new person, a new addition to the family, a new personality, a new life.  But why do you think people have children?  Back in the day people had lots of children in order to have help on the farm, maybe some just enjoy having children around, maybe some want playmates for their other children, maybe some want to be sure to have someone to take care of them when they’re old.  There’s just so much potential with children.  Who knows what they will do, what they will accomplish in life?  Will they become a great leader, a great doctor, discover a cure for cancer, help many people?  Why are children born?  While parents make their plans, ultimately they’re not the ones responsible for life, finally it’s God who is responsible for life.  So why did God put you here?  Well, why were humans here in the first place?

Remember God first made humans in his image and in his likeness.  God made you to be like him- perfect and holy – to live with him forever, in total joy and peace and perfection, to be a holy companion of God himself!  What a purpose for a birth!  But  that didn’t last long, did it?  Our first parents Adam and Eve doubted God’s love, disobeyed him and brought sin and death on themselves and one every one of their descendants.  And we’ve inherited their problem and we’ve perpetuated their problem.  We’re often selfish, we use our words to cut and hurt, we fill our minds with greed and jealousy, we do things we’re later ashamed of.  We haven’t lived up to the purpose for which we were born.

Far worse than a child who disappoints his parents is us, we’ve failed to be what God made us to be.  Our sins have earned us death and separation from God forever.

And that is why Christmas is such a big deal.  It’s a big deal because this is God’s Son.  The Maker of all, the one who holds the planets in their courses and keeps the stars in their places left behind his eternal glory to be our substitute, to be so weak and fragile, who couldn’t hold up his head or walk, who depended on the motherly care of one of his creatures!  That’s incredible!  But even bigger than that, is the purpose of His birth.  He didn’t come to invent something really cool, he didn’t come in order to cure cancer, he didn’t come in order to establish a new government or cure world hunger or end all war- he came to cure sin, the cause of all problems.

He was born to save us.  He was born to take our place and feel the pain of our mistakes.  He was born to do what we are too weak to do- live perfectly.  He was born to pay for all our sins.  He was born to die.  He was born to rescue us from what our sins had coming, to save us from the guilt and shame, he was born to save us from hell!

So, why were you born?  Why were you born here, to your parents, in this world?  On mere appearances it may have looked that you were born to die- that’s the wages of being a sinner born into a sinful world.  But then Christmas happened and Christmas changed that.  This baby, God’s Son, the sinless, perfect Son of a virgin was born to die in your place so that you might live, live forever with your God for all of eternity!  Yes, you were born to live because this child Jesus was born to save you!  Amen.