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Saturday, December 13, 2014

On the first day of Christmas: What is it all “For”?

“FOR God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son,
that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”[1]

          As we take a dozen days to explore this wonderful verse from God’s book, the first word might look rather small, but it is of huge significance. The word “for” is another way of saying “because.” This means it is pointing us back to something already said, and explaining why that thing is so.
          What came ahead of this wonderful expression? Let me tell you the story. One night a man came to see Jesus. His name was Nicodemus, and he was one of the leaders of God’s people. He had heard enough about Jesus and his ministry to know there was something distinctive about what was taking place. He acknowledged that God was with Jesus because he knew that no one could do what Jesus was doing without God’s presence.
          During the course of their conversation, Jesus told Nicodemus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”[2] Nicodemus had no idea what Jesus was talking about. Knowing this, Jesus started teaching him about a spiritual life that was far different, and much better, than just our physical life. He then reminded Nicodemus about some things that God had already taught his people, and applied those teachings to himself as the Messiah. He concluded by saying that “whoever believes in him may have eternal life.”[3]
          Then Jesus continues to explain this by saying, “for” or, because…
          Think of it like this. Whoever believes in Jesus may have eternal life, because God so loved the world that whoever believes in Jesus will not perish but have eternal life. Since God did love the world, and since God did give us his Son, and since God’s gift of his Son means that people can have eternal life, anyone who does believe in Jesus will have eternal life. Always.
          HOWEVER!!!!
          What Jesus means by believing in him is what he means by being born again. If we believe in Jesus in the born again way, like someone who is dead being made alive again by paramedics, we get another kind of life that lasts forever. Jesus makes people alive in him in a certain kind of way, and it is just like someone being born all over again.
          The point is that, God wants people to believe in his Son and have eternal life. To accomplish this, he gave his Son to the world. Now people can learn about what Jesus did for us, and how God is still giving his Son to whoever will come to him and believe in him, and we can receive that life.
          The question is, when you hear Jesus say that we MUST be born again, and then you discover that God makes it possible for us to be born again by giving us his Son, and when people believe in Jesus in the born-again  way they actually receive this eternal life, does that sound like the best Christmas present ever, or do you think the life you already have is better than God’s gift of life?
          You see, if you have the life that is not born again, then you can’t have relationship with the God who created you. If you say no to God’s gift of Jesus the Christ, you say no to all the good things God has planned for those who love him. Christmas is about God sending his Son as the Christ (or Messiah) so that people could have eternal life. He tells us why we need to be born again, why we need to believe in Jesus, and why Christmas reminds us of these things year after year.
          For the moment, the issue for us all is that God explains why we must believe in Jesus in order to have eternal life. It is because God so loved the world that he gave us his Son, and whoever believes in his Son in that born-again  kind of way receives the eternal life Jesus purchased for us while he was here.
          Much more on that later!
          However, today’s question is this: do you accept God’s explanation for why we must believe in Jesus in that born-again  kind of way? For me, it is not only amazing that God gave us the gift of his Son, but he gave us a book full of explanations for why he gave us the gift. In his book, he reveals how that gift is the most life-changing, life-fulfilling, gift anyone could experience.
          Yes, folks, so that we could be born again is what Christmas is “for." So, with God’s explanation for why we need to believe in his Son, Jesus the Christ, remember to have a blessed “About Christ” Day!

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.)




[1] John 3:16
[2] John 3:3
[3] John 3:15

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