Hello again! As usual, I pray that all is well and all will be well in your lives.
This week, much of the world will celebrate Christmas.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. — John 3:16
Between Psalms 23 and John 3:16, these are probably the most well-known scriptures from the bible.
No, December 25th is not the exact date of Jesus’ birth; which was most likely in the spring. However, pretty much every culture had/has some type of festival to observe each of the seasons. The Catholic church saw these observances as paganism (namely the festival of Saturnalia), but since they were considered holidays amongst the populace, it would have been a hard time to take them away. So, the Catholic church created the Christ’s Mass to replace the practice and keep the holiday. Where the Christ’s Mass, per its name is to celebrate the birth of Christ. While many Protestant denominations don’t have mass per se, they still celebrate his birth at the same time. So currently, it is a time to recognize the birth of the Christ: the gift that God gave to mankind. Was that truly the intention of the early Catholic church versus replacing an existing holiday to keep power and people in check? I don’t know.
Instead of me writing and speculating about what the holiday was, is, or will become, let me write about what God did; that is John 3:16.
The first thing to understand is understand that Jesus “offered” Himself to the Father through the Holy Spirit to be given. At any point, any three could have not volunteered or said the price is too high.
How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! — Hebrews 9:14
I don’t know what goes through the heart of each person when they read John 3:16, so again I will not speculate: I will share with you what I feel and what I see.
I see love… I see a gift… I see hope… Those are the main points made in the verse. But I also see pain and a tremendous cost… The pain is not seen in the reading of the verse, but in the understanding of it. I can only limitedly see and understand some of God’s pain. I am only human, so even if I saw it all I couldn’t bear it. As I pointed out in a previous post, part of being made in God’s likeness is that we also share the same emotions. We are so quick to discount his, yet if anything, God being God, wouldn’t his be more intense?
There was pain for Jesus to be given as a gift. There was the pain factor of the Father, the Son and the Spirit being separated. Think of what it feels like for your closest love one to go away for a long period of time.
Then there was the incomprehensible cost of God loving the world so much. God cannot allow sin; it must be dealt with. However, God loved man so much, that He put his son on the line to atone for our sins.
First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them”—though they were offered in accordance with the law. Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. — Hebrews 10:8-10
Only his deity, perfection and innocence could have paid the price for our sins. When we say it’s the blood of Jesus that makes atonement for our soul, this is why. We see blood as gruesome today, but I’ll make a post explaining the meaning in the future around Easter.
Now, there was so much more than just the act of Jesus dying on a cross for our salvation. Jesus was God as a man/in flesh, so being a man, he could have failed. When the devil tempted him in the wilderness, they were very much real temptations that he could have yielded to as a man. Those temptations were not for show! He stood strong and overcame them. Further, He had to surrender his will to the will of the Father. That was done when he said “nevertheless” in the garden of Gethsemane. I hope you truly understand, that had Jesus failed any of these, it would have broken the Trinity! In this regard, God risked it all (his Godhood) for us, thank him that he didn’t fail! At that point, after Gethsemane, and before the first nail was even hammered, victory was won.
Most of all, God knew that man would reject his gift. He knew people would scuff at it, shrug it off, find fault and not even consider it. Those things grieve him very much. Very very much. So much more than you or I can ever know. Yet, he gave anyway. And yet more, in spite of all that pain he still reaches out and gives more.
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. — 2 Peter 3:9
This was the price of his gift!
Among other things, I enjoy studying economics. In economics there is the “Sunk Cost Fallacy”:
“A sunk cost expense refers to the loss of time, money, or effort, which you can’t get back.” — https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/sunkcost.asp
I dare not question/criticize God, and I’m not when I say it, but mankind is a sunk cost. Our salvation was absolutely not worth the price and it can never be repaid; which is why it was a gift in the first place. So, knowing all this, why did God pay the price, as well as go through all the pain? I think about that often, and many scriptures come to mind, but there isn’t one to answer the question. It is neither for man nor angel to analyze the love of God, only be humbled by it. Somehow, that “is” the answer: it is because he is God and it is what makes him God.
I thank God every day, and I am so glad, so glad for his gift of salvation, redemption and communion. I’m so glad that it moves me to tears to think about it. I’m so glad that he did it willingly for me before I knew or understood him. I’m so glad that he did it even though I didn’t ask him (and was not worthy to ask). To Him: Thank you!
If you celebrate Christmas, even if you don’t, please at least take the time this year and whisper “God, thank you for your son (gift)”. We cannot repay the debt, but five seconds of appreciation is the very least that we can do.
I wish a merry Christmas to all, comfort to those lonely, and comfort to those hurting during this time of the year.
May God bless and keep all who read this.
May God bless and keep all brothers and sisters, new and old, in the faith in his name.
With his love and mine,
Chrom