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Last Updated: Dec 25, 2008 - 10:48:51 AM |
Invasion! It happened June 6, 1944. Allied armies stormed the beaches of Normandy in what was to be the beginning of the end for the Nazi empire. Nearly two thousand years before this God himself stormed the beachhead of this world. This is what Christmas is all about. God’s invasion marked the beginning of the end for the devil’s empire.
The Bible says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”
It was no angel who invaded at Christmas. Rather, it was him whom the angels worship. God himself had taken up residence in Mary’s womb. The cries of Mary’s infant son that first Christmas were the cries of a human child who was also the very God of the universe. This child’s cry brought fear to the devil, since it marked the beginning of the end of his kingdom, as well as his hold on Adam and Eve’s descendents.
God invaded our planet with the express purpose of living his life as our substitute. The Jesus born on Christmas was innocent, sinless, and holy from the moment of his conception. He would live his holy life in our place to make up for our unholy lives. For some three decades he would live a perfect life of obedience that God would credit to our account. Then, when the time came, he would take our sins upon himself at the cross and pay the price for those sins, a price we could never pay. In this invasion God would “redeem those who were under the law, in order that we might receive the adoption as sons.”
It would be no peaceful invasion. While it would bring peace between God and man, it would do so by God doing battle with the devil and dealing with our sin. And, the devil did not go quietly. The book of Revelation says he sought to ‘devour’ Jesus when he was born. One way Satan did this was by inciting King Herod to try to kill the young child. Throughout his life Jesus would engage Satan who was fighting hard as he retreated from this divine onslaught. In the end, Jesus would suffer the curse due our sin and he would do this at the cross. He would redeem us “from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.” What we deserved, Jesus would suffer it in our place. What would look like a defeat for Jesus would really be the high point of his victory for us. Here God struck the final blow. Here God brought forgiveness for the entire world. Now, Jesus’ resurrection proclaims God the Father’s acceptance of what Jesus has done. It also proclaims God’s pardon for the world.
We have been liberated by God’s invasion on that first Christmas day. To believe in this liberation is to receive it, and those who receive it, receive God’s liberating gifts of forgiveness and eternal life.
Most invasions are bloody. God’s invasion was no different. He purchased our freedom with blood, a blood that flowed from Jesus’ veins and cost Jesus his very life. That was the price of our liberation. Remember this on Christmas when you sing, “Joy to the world, the Lord has come.” You are singing about God’s costly invasion and our liberation. This invasion is the real reason you can say “Merry Christmas!”
Pastor Douglas Morton is pastor of St. John’s Lutheran Church, Marengo. His email is pastor@forgiveninchrist.com.
Bible verses for the above article are from John 1:1 & 14; Galatians 4:4-5; Revelation 12:4; and Galatians 3:13.
© Copyright 2008 by The East Iowa Herald
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