Greetings my friends and
readers:
Let me pause just a bit for a
reflection more than anything else.
Right now we are in the midst of the holiday season, leading to the
climax of the celebration of the birth Jesus on the day traditionally set many
centuries ago. So let’s reflect on a few
thoughts.
Sadly enough this is the
season many who do not like the Christian faith love to trot out the pagan side
of Christians, that the date and many of its customs were adopted from the
pagans that surrounded the early church as it went from being a persecuted
minority to the Roman empires state church.
I won’t dispute that nor defend the celebration. Really, from the fourth century on the new
“Universal,” or “Catholic” church adopted so much from the pagan world that the
Apostles and early Christian wouldn’t recognize it as Christian if they were
set right down in the middle of it today.
But that’s not the point.
The holiday was meant to
focus people’s attention on our savior under the guise of celebrating his birth,
which was no insignificant event because of what it led to. Whatever day he was born Jesus came to this
earth for a purpose, to make it possible for all of us, every one of us both
the living and the dead to have the chance Adam took away from us to enjoy
eternal life when he took the very first bite of the fruit from the forbidden
tree (1 Tim. 2:3-6).
“For as in Adam all
die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” (1Cor. 15:22)
More than two thousand years after the event many of
the devout are so focused on for all the wrong reasons this perfect man,
miraculously conceived in a virgin for the purpose of standing in Adam’s stead
gave up that life as a sacrifice to redeem us all and give us that chance for
eternal life that Adam gave away. What
is more, he also purchased for some the unfathomable opportunity to be a nation
of rulers and priests (Rev. 20: 4-6) who partake of the divine nature (2 Pet.
1:4). And as if that weren’t enough, by
making that sacrifice he answered forever the charge Satan made to Eve that God
acts out of improperly selfish motives for all of eternity (Gen. 3:4,5). Yes, it is the end not the beginning which is
really significant and on which we should focus our minds.
So as we go about our lives during this season, whether
we celebrate the day or not, let’s ponder the real significances of the event
being celebrated, the event which was just the start of the path to the best
gift of all the inestimably precious gift of eternal life which will be laid
out before all at its due time.
