The Spirit of Christmas 1 of 7

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given . . .

                When I was a young child my parents made it clear that they did not want anyone inside our home after we arrived home from school nor were we allowed to play outside until they were present. It didn’t take long before we broke these rules. Our next door neighbor made the suggestion that we play after school. We decided it would be best if he came inside the house to play out door games. Needless to say, a few short moments of boyhood fun resulted in the complete destruction of a light fixture. Our neighbor laughed and went home. My brother and I cleaned up the mess the best we could and waited to meet death.

                I don’t remember exactly what happened after my parents got home. I do remember that they learned the complete truth. The account in Genesis chapter 3 reminded me of this episode in my life recently. There was a suggestion made contrary to the commandment given by God.  A choice was made to violate that commandment. Then God came home. We find Adam and Eve blame shifting trying to shed their guilt. Like the case with my light fixture, there was no hope of the transgressors fixing or hiding the problem. The image of righteousness and purity was shattered. All that remained was a trace of the image of their creator. Oddly enough, we find the first kernel of Christmas in the consequences that followed.

SATAN CURSED BY THE PROMISE OF A CHILD (Genesis 3:15-16)

                 Satan had played a major role in the death of man by deceiving Eve into disobeying God (Genesis 3:13; John 8:44). This shattering of life was made complete when Adam willingly disobeyed God (1Timothy 2:14; Romans 5:12). All men were thus bound by nature to the death promised because of sin. But God would not leave mankind in a desperately hopeless state (1Corinthians 15:22).  God told the serpent that the woman would have a child that would do damage to his head.

 SATAN’S WORK IS RUINED THROUGH CHRISTMAS

                The will of man, once inclined toward disobedience, was enslaved to sin (Romans 6:16).  Though Satan seemed to accomplish a great victory against righteousness, God was not frustrated or defeated. Instead, he sent Jesus Christ into the world to destroy Satan and the effects his work has had on humanity as a whole (Hebrews 2:14-15; 1John 3:8). Christmas is the celebration of the incarnation of the eternal Son of God (John 1:14; Philippians 2:5-8). God sent Jesus to be born in this world (Galatians 4:4) so that men might be his once again (Galatians 4:5). God promises salvation if you believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior (Galatians 4:7; Romans 10:9). Satan wants to distract you from the real meaning of Christmas because he knows the power of God to change the lives of those who believe the good news of salvation from their hearts (Romans 10:10-11).

Please, accept the gift of eternal life.  Trust Jesus.