A Saviour for All Seasons

My normal daily blog today was not exactly Christmassy! As you know, I work my way through books of the Bible, they are also written several months in advance. So what you get, is what you get!

However, here is a more seasonal reflection. At this time we celebrate the birth of Jesus. What really happened two thousand years ago? God the Father sent His Son to live amongst us for our salvation. Jesus was sent by the Father, He came from heaven. It is not a case that God saw a particular baby and selected that child. Jesus came from heaven. His conception was supernatural, but beyond that He lived life in a fully human way. As John puts it, He came in the flesh. Mary was pregnant for nine months, He was born in the normal way, though the maternity services in Bethlehem weren’t the  best! Even as a baby He was persecuted by a tyrant ruler, and His family had to flee into exile. Eventually they returned, and He lived a pretty normal life, with all its ups and downs. Joseph died when Jesus was a relatively young man. During His ministry, He was constantly opposed by the religious leaders, they were forever looking for ways to trap Him. At the end He was the victim of political self-interest, both on the part of the ruling powers (Rome) and the religious leader. He was betrayed by a friend, and the rest failed to stand by Him in His hour of need. He was severely beaten, a victim of a show-trial, and died a vicious and cruel death. In all this the purposes of God were being fulfilled. Moreover, death was not the end. Indeed death was not a defeat, it was the means to victory. It was death that was defeated.

So what does this say to you and me? God sent the Son and calls on all of us to put our trust in Him. We can base our life on our own strength, or just “trust to luck”. Or we can put our trust in the one who lived amongst us and who gave His life for us, and was raised from the dead. I will tell you something about myself. There are times when I fail, there are circumstances and situations that I do not know how to handle. And the same is true for you. But I do not base my life, my hope, on myself or my own strength. My hope is in Jesus, He is the foundation of my life.

Jesus came into the mess and confusion and suffering of life in first century Israel. Let Him come into your life today, whether things are going well, or whether life just seems a complete mess.

Merry Christmas.