REASON #9 Why Christmas Should Take Your Breath Away: Jesus’ Meekness and Might Meet in an Awesome Way at Bethlehem

About 250 years ago, the pastor and theologian Jonathan Edwards said, “There is a conjunction of such excellencies in Christ as, in our manner of conceiving, are very diverse one from another.” What he means by this is that in the diamond of the person of Christ, we do not only see one beam of brilliance, but we see many different edges that defract Christ’s glory into a spectrum of brilliance. We do not only see might, but we also see lowliness. We see glory and we see plainness. We see eternality and we see frailty. We see authority and we see submission.

And these things do not contradict each other. Nor do they make Christ appear less glorious. Instead, they together magnify a multi-faceted glow that makes Jesus appear incredibly great. Let’s see this by looking briefly at the Christmas story.

One perspective of Christ’s coming is clearly his humility. He was born in an inn next to braying donkeys and manure after being rejected at the inn (Lk. 2:7). His first audience was nothing more than commoners (Elizabeth, Shepherds, Simeon, Anna). As a baby, he was completed dependent on Mary and Joseph to survive, even though it was he who created them (and sustained them!). No wonder Paul says that Jesus’ incarnation was an example of him making himself ‘nothing’ (Phil. 2:7).

But this is not the only facet we see. Conjoined with this do we also see the power of Christ brilliantly on display. He is born as one above all humans, Immanuel, God with us (Mt. 1:23). He is worshipped by the wise men as the king of the Jews, honored with the precious gift of gold (Mt. 2:2,11). His might is clearly seen as he forms (as the Creator of all things) a brilliant star to trumpet his arrival (Mt. 2:2). Thousands (maybe millions) of angels proclaim his birth (Lk. 2:13). His relative calls him ‘Lord’ (God!) while he is still unborn (Lk. 1:43)! Indeed, John says that this child is the very invisible glory of God made visible (John 1:14).

So, this Christmas, keep turning this diamond. Don’t just look at one angle. Be astonished at how low he made himself and soar with how mighty he still was!

Come, let us adore this humble and powerful child!

REASON #8 Why Christmas Should Take Your Breath Away: We Did Not Deserve Christ’s Coming

Imagine if Jesus never came. No God-man, no angels, no John the Baptist, no glorious incarnation. We would simply live our 70 years or so and then face our dying breaths with a knowledge that we would surely face God's wrath for an eternity.

And there would be nothing at all that we could do to avoid it.

This is what we deserve. That is the point that the author Luke makes obvious in his Gospel. We find in Luke that a central, driving motive for Christ arrival is God's abundant, precious mercy. Five (5!) times in the first chapter of Luke the word ‘mercy’ is explicitly mentioned as the reason why Jesus came (or why his forerunner, John the Baptist, was sent).

Mary—“My soul magnifies the Lord…his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation” (1:46,50)

Mary—“[God] has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever” (1:54-55)

Neighbors of Elizabeth—“And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her” (1:58)

Zechariah (Concerning Jesus)—“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people…to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant” (1:68,72)

Zechariah (Concerning John)—“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God” (1:76-78a)

Mercy here means an incredible display of covenantal kindness to a people who were completely undeserving. Both the second and fourth passage say clearly that God sent Jesus on account of the word he promised years back to Abraham and his offspring. And yet this was mercy, which means that Israel did not earn this gift of God became flesh. God made a promise in ages past. Israel had been incredibly unfaithful and were left with no hope. Yet God still sent the only hope of salvation and forgiveness of sins (1:77). That is why it is called ‘great mercy’ (1:58) and ‘tender mercy’ (1:78). No wonder that in every single passage everyone is praising God for his mercy.

Consider how Christmas will change for you this holiday season if you view it as fueled by great mercy.

* You will stop hiding the wretchedness of sin in your life, for if Jesus came because of ‘great mercy,’ this implies that there was a GREAT need.

* You will never feel entitled to know Jesus as your Savior, for you know that mercy rather than works is what began God’s work of salvation.

* You will be tender and full of compassion to others, knowing that we were given hope when we were in the slums of our own stinking filth.

* Your heart will begin to well up with praise, knowing that this ‘great mercy’ is not a dead-end street, but instead a marvelous thoroughfare that leads to the destination of a ‘great salvation’ (Heb. 2:3).

Come, let us worship this merciful child!

REASON #7 Why Christmas Should Take Your Breath Away: The Angels Announcing Christ’s Birth Were More Numerous Than the Stars in the Sky

“And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear…And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!’” (Luke 2:9, 13-14, ESV)

Here is a second simple, breath-taking, awesome aspect of this event which points to the greatest of Jesus Christ:

2.)The number of angels outnumbered the stars. It says there was a ‘multitude’ of angels proclaiming Christ’s birth. What does multitude mean? It is the Greek word stratias, which is a military word meaning thousands. Keep in mind that this is likely a very high number, for there was not a word for millions or billions or trillions in Greek. The highest word they had was thousands.

Revelation 5:11 suggests that the number of angels that exist is so high that it cannot be numbered. We are not told clearly in this text, but perhaps those angels were all present that evening. Maybe not, but the point is that this is far more than 15 or 50 angels in the sky. It would have been thousands, perhaps countless thousands. And because we know that the unaided human eye can see about 2,000 stars, the shepherds would have seen FAR more brilliant angels than stars in the sky. The sky would have been FULL of angels, all of them shining with the blinding brilliance of the glory of God.

Consider this: God (perhaps) had all of the created angels (trillions?) show up to proclaim the coming of his Son. Not one angel would miss out on this glorious announcement.

And all of this points to the greatness of the one they were proclaiming.

Come, let us worship this glorious Messiah!

REASON #6 Why Christmas Should Take Your Breath Away: The Glory of the Angels Would Have Left You Fearing For Your Life

Just because Jesus revealed himself first to the lowly, it does not mean that he is lowly, nor does it mean his arrival was not triumphant. Though Christ’s arrival was uneventful in many ways, there were still certain events that subtly made his coming more magnificent than any other ruler in all human history. Perhaps the most breath-taking event was what happened on the countryside that quiet, still evening. We will look at two truths, one today and one tomorrow.

“And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear…And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!’” (Luke 2:9, 13-14, ESV)

Here is one simple, breath-taking, awesome aspects of this event which points to the greatest of Jesus Christ:

1.)The splendor was stunningly brilliant. When the first angel (Gabriel?) appeared to the shepherds, it says that the ‘glory of the Lord shone around them’ (v.9) This glory is the bright glow and splendor of God’s presence. It is uniquely special. It did not occur every time an angel appeared to a human. It didn’t appear when Gabriel revealed to Zechariah, nor did it appear to Mary (see Luke 1). But it did on this countryside on the night Christ was born.

The glory of the Lord appeared occasionally throughout the Old Testament to Israel, usually seen in the likeness of a cloud and fire (see Exodus 40:34-38). It was almost as though God—who is a consuming fire—needed to have a cloud covering his presence for the safety of humans.

But here these lowly shepherds have God’s glory full strength. No cloud is present. Their evening went from pitch black with a few specks of light in the sky to blinding, overpowering light. No wonder the first words out of the angel were, “Fear not.” And consider this: this glory was shining only from one angel. As we will see tomorrow, soon thousands of thousands of angels appeared. Could you imagine what this must have been like for the shepherds?

And all of this points to the greatness of the one they were proclaiming.

Come, let us worship this glorious Messiah!

REASON #5 Why Christmas Should Take Your Breath Away: The Response of Everyone to Jesus’ Birth Was Exuberant Praise

My goal in these blog posts about Christmas—which I hope to have 20 completed by Christmas day—has been to fan the flame of our passion for Jesus. I want us to worship the Christ all the more fervently. One of the best ways to do this is to take our cue from the original audience. What was their response? Fear? Joy? Confusion? Though the demographic of the audience was incredibly diverse, their response was uniform: white-hot, Spirit-filled praise.

The first person to respond to Jesus’ birth was the unborn 6 month old, John the Baptist. When his mother, Elizabeth, saw her relative Mary (who had JUST conceived—her pregnancy would not be evident), John the Baptist responded by leaping in her mother’s womb (Luke 1:41). He was worshipping Jesus. How could he have done this? It was because he was filled with the Holy Spirit, ‘even from his mother’s womb’ (Luke 1:15). Though he could not yet see anything with his physical eyes, he understood perfectly who Jesus was with his spiritual eyes.

The second person was Elizabeth. After John the Baptist lept, she was ‘filled with the Holy Spirit’ (Luke 1:41) and called this days-old unborn child her ‘Lord’ (Luke 1:43). How remarkable is this?! This old lady is calling this infant her God and master! Incredible!

This act of being filled with the Holy Spirit and praising God was the consistent response of everyone else, too. Jesus’ mother exclaimed, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” (Luke 1:46-47). Zechariah, after responding with doubt, praised God with his first words after his tongues were loosed (Luke 1:64) and was ‘filled with the Holy Spirit’ (1:67). The multitude of angels worshipped God before those awe-struck shepherds: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:14). The shepherds then responded by searching for the child, then returning by “glorifying and praising God” (Luke 2:20). Simeon ‘came in the Spirit’ (Luke 2:27) then embraced this child and “blessed God” (Luke 2:28-32). Finally, Anna the prophetess, who was also at the temple, began to speak of him [the Messiah] and “began to give thanks to God” (Luke 2:38).

Everyone—all 8 of these individuals or groups—responded to the birth of Jesus with fervent praise. They did this because they were filled with the Holy Spirit. This means that if we have God’s perspective in regards to Jesus, we would see how glorious it is and praise him. Let us not be content to be indifferent and apathetic to God being wrapped in human flesh. Aside from the death and resurrection of Jesus, there is no greater news that we could ever hear.

Come, let us adore this highly-esteemed child!

REASON #4 Why Christmas Should Take Your Breath Away: The Audience of This Infant Shows That God Only Reveals Himself to the Humble and Lowly

If you designed a universe in which you, as God, would come down to earth to save mankind, how would you set up your arrival? Let’s be honest, we would do it with an awful lot of fanfare and be noticed by everyone, especially by the wealthy, influential, and powerful. Deep down, we all crave for the approval and praise of men.

This is why it should be so hard not to scoff when we consider the original audience of Jesus’ birth. Apart from a myriad of angels, it seemed…well, very common and plain. To whom did Jesus reveal himself? It was all people of low status. They were rejected and shunned and marginalized by society at large. In order, the audience was a virgin woman who would become pregnant outside of wedlock (Mary); a soon-to-be aunt (or probably great aunt) who had been barren her whole life (Elizabeth); lowly, smelly shepherds outside of Bethlehem ; an old man with great hopes but of no special rank (Simeon); and a prophetess who had been a widow for 60 long years (Anna).

‘But what about the wisemen?’ you may ask. Contrary to common nativity scenes, there is good reason to think that they came some time later. Matthew tells us that they came to see and worship the infant, not at the stable, but at a house (Matthew 2:11). It seems that Joseph and Mary decided to settle down in Bethlehem for a little while after the birth and prior to their flight to Egypt. We don’t know how long they stayed in Bethlehem, but it seems most likely that the wisemen appeared well after Jesus appeared to Simeon and Anna (which was when he was 8 days old).

So how can knowing that the original audience was lowly and humble be an encouragement to us today? I believe God purposefully designed it this way so as to show what kind of people would receive this king and therefore be in his eternal kingdom. It was not—and never has been—the haughty and elevated that gain an entrance in the Kingdom of Heaven. Men like Herod and Pilate exalted themselves, and God humbled them by not allowing them to see the Christ that Christmas morning. It was the lowly and meek and mournful who saw this humble king. Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). All people—whether they be rich or poor—must recognize their own spiritual poverty in order to see and worship this reigning king.

So, if you feel like you are empty and broken and sinful, take heart. You are exactly the kind of person to whom God will reveal himself, as long as your poverty is a true brokenness. He did this 2,000 years ago, and he still does it today.

Come, let us adore this humble king who reveals himself to humble people!

REASON #3 Why Christmas Should Take Your Breath Away: This Baby Had the Greatest of All Men as His Herald

A king coming into a city looks greater if he is preceded by heralds. If there is a lot of fanfare and royal declaration, we would greater esteem the approaching royalty. If there is no herald, we would not think much of this king.

God does it the same way with Jesus Christ. He is the coming king. And not just any king, but the King of all the Kings who have ever lived and ever will live. Think of that. He is the king of Barack Obama. But his inauguration of his reign would be so easy to miss precisely because he came as a baby. In order that we would not miss the greatness of the Christmas event, God gave us different clues that something breathtaking was going on. One of these clues is the sending of the herald, John the Baptist.

John the Baptist’s mission was to announce Jesus’ coming. After he was born, his father Zechariah prophesied, “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways” (Luke 1:76, ESV). John’s preparation for this Messiah was his faithful declaration of his superiority. Hear John’s faithful witness about Jesus: “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me’” (John 1:15). John recognized that Jesus was before him (eternal) and that he was greater than him (God incarnate). That was his message to trumpet. He proclaimed this message when he lept for joy in his mother’s womb at six months old (Luke 1:41) until he lost his head to the Herodias’ deceitful demand (Matthew 14:1-11).

Think of how John the Baptist makes Jesus look great. We get the clearest glimpse from Jesus’ own analysis of John in Matthew 11, where Jesus says, “Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist” (11:11). No one was greater than John. Wow! Not Moses, who talked with God face to face. Not Elijah, who raised a girl from the dead. Not Elisha, who received a double portion of Elijah’s spirit and performed so many miracles that he made Elijah look silly. No, John the Baptist was the greatest of all prophets (and men) who had ever lived.
Why?

It was not because he performed more miracles (he didn’t perform any) or preached mighty sermons (he got killed for the one about Herod’s adultery). It wasn’t bound up with who he was or what he did. It was bound up with who he saw. He saw Jesus, proclaimed him, and that made him great. His faithful heralding makes the infant Jesus look great.

Come, let us adore this herald-preceded king!

REASON #2 Why Christmas Should Take Your Breath Away: This Lowly Baby Crushed Satan’s Head

Note: We all know it is a struggle to sing songs like the angels did 2,000 years ago. We struggle to view the birth of Jesus as a big deal. So, this is my attempt to stir worship within us. This is the second of 20 blog entries, one for each day until Christmas.

Satan is real. And deadly. And he is one million times stronger than you or I. He is a roaring lion, devouring people (1 Peter 5:8). All men apart from Christ have him as their father (John 8:44). We followed him, and not begrudgingly, but whole-heartedly down the path of life unto our own cliff of destruction (Ephesians 2:2). He is the ‘god of this world’ who exerts incredible power as BILLIONS do his damning bidding.
And it has been this way from the very beginning, since Adam and Eve.

Yet God did not leave us on our own. After Adam and Eve’s treasonous disobedience in the Garden of Eden, God graciously gave this glimmer of hope in his curse on the Serpent: “I will put enmity between you and the women, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15, ESV).

Notice two awesome things in this promise. First, salvation will not come from Adam or Eve, but will come through the woman’s line. It is her offspring that will destroy the Devil. But who is this offspring? It was not Abel nor Seth nor Abraham nor Moses nor David. None of them bruised the serpent’s head. No, it was this humble, meek infant born of the virgin Mary and lying in a manger. Jesus could not just show up on earth to save. He had to be born of a woman. He is the one and only true offspring of Eve.

Second, look how this salvation comes about. It is the offspring of the woman who “shall bruise [the serpent’s] head,” but the serpent “shall bruise [the offspring’s] heel.” This offspring will deal out a deadly wound (“bruise your head”) and receive a minor wound (“bruise his heel”). Why do you suppose God would waste time mentioning this minor wound? If it is minor, he will recover. No big deal? Right? Perhaps he was just saying that there would be conflict. Perhaps, but I think there is more. Could it be that both are mentioned because God is hinting at how this deadly wound happen? The deadly wound could not happen without his heel being bruised. In fact, it was precisely by having his heel bruised that he crushed the serpent’s head. By the infant Jesus’ eventually laying down his life (“bruise his heel”), he would fully crush the serpent’s head and deal the blow to end his reign (“bruise his head”). Jesus’ death brought Satan’s death.

Notice how clear this is from these two texts:

“This [Jesus] set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him” (Colossians 2:15).

“And they [the saints] have conquered him [the Devil] by the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 12:11).

Come, let us adore this devil-destroying infant!

REASON #1 Why Christmas Should Take Your Breath Away: Our King Has Come!

Note: For the remaining 20 days until Christmas, I plan on writing one post a day about Christmas. The following is the first entry.

Six months into the conception of John the Baptist, the angel Gabriel was sent to the virgin Mary. What was his message? She, though a virgin, would bear a son. And not just any son, but a king. Consider that. A meek, lowly child born to a castaway virgin with no royal pedigree would be the eternal king. Look at Gabriel’s words: “And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:32, ESV).

What does it mean for Jesus to have the throne of his father David? It means that Jesus is the promised King who would reign over the people of God and lead them in righteousness and peace. King David was an upright man and God richly blessed David and Israel on account of his righteousness. But two things went wrong: David was sinful (Bathsheba and census) and his reign came to an end. Somehow there needed to be a perfect king who would reign forever.

God promised this kind of king to David: “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Samuel 7:12-13, ESV). This king would come from the line of David and would not just have a very long reign, but an eternal reign. This king was not Solomon nor Hezekiah nor Josiah. No, they all died, and they all sinned. A perfect, never-ending reign needed to come, and we have that promised by Gabriel in Jesus Christ.

Don’t think small thoughts of Jesus as King. His reign is comprehensive and rule is complete. As king, this infant alone has authority to forgive the sins of everyone, including his mother who birthed him (Luke 5:20-26). As king, this infant has authority over all demonic powers. They recognize his authority and beg not to be tormented (Luke 8:28). As king, this infant would crush the greatest enemy (Death) by rising from the dead. As king, this infant would have authority over all men and women who have ever lived, and everyone from Muhammad to Mao Tse Tung to Clara Barton will have to given an account to him (1 Peter 4:5).

Come, let us adore this infant king!

The Only Hope to Lasting Change

Selfishness. Back-biting. Greed. Living loose sexually. Gossip. Addictions to drugs or alcohol. As we look around us, it is not hard to be weighed down by the corruption that surrounds us (perhaps even in our own lives). Despite our boasts as a well advanced culture, our decay seems to be more apparent than ever. Just look at the evening news.

What then is our hope to real change? Like the Emperor with his invisible clothes, we have all tried on positive self-image (“Believe in yourself”), psychotherapy (“It’s not your fault; it’s a disease”), or self-discipline (“Just try harder”). All of these have been ineffective and have left us exposed.

Enter the Apostle Paul and the corrupt Corinthian church. This church had split allegiances to different church leaders (1 Cor 3), was boasting over a man sleeping with his mother-in-law (1 Cor 5), was suing their fellow believers (1 Cor 6), was getting drunk at the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor 11), and was gloating in their own gifts to serve one another (1 Cor 12). And you think your church had problems!

The only thing more amazing than the corruption in the Corinthian church was the counsel for lasting change given by the Apostle Paul. In chapter 15, he writes, “I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you...that Christ died for our sins...that he was buried, that he raised on the third day” (1 Cor 15:1,3-4, ESV).

The only clothes that can truly cover us and the only hope to real change is this: understanding and resting in the cross. Ironically, we do not need to hear what we must do; we need to hear what has been done. As we realize how much we are loved by Jesus, we will then be able to love others (1 John 4:11). As we grasp the depth of our own sinfulness, we will be tender-hearted to those who wrong us (Matthew 5:43-45). As we understand that our sin has been crucified with Christ on the cross, we can finally have freedom over our addictions to pornography or alcohol (Romans 6:1-4).

Let us stop putting our hope in moral commands and positive self-image. The answer for change is not in ourselves. The answer is only found in Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

The Demands of the Empty Tomb

Easter week may be past, but its incredible claims live on. According to the Bible, the linchpin of Christianity centers on the empty tomb (1 Corinthians 15:19). No resurrection equals no Christianity. But if Jesus’ rising from the dead can stand the test of scrutiny, not only is Christianity true, but it makes demands on all people.

Let’s survey the evidence for the resurrection. The oldest objection, begun by the chief priests themselves, is that the disciples simply stole the body of Jesus and fabricated the tale. The problem with this is that the soldiers who guarded the tomb never were killed. If Jesus’ disciples did steal the body, wouldn’t they have to kill the soldiers? And if any of those soldiers remained alive to tell the chief priests, wouldn’t they have also been killed for failing to complete their mission? But the soldiers remained alive, proving that the disciples could not have stolen the body (Matthew 28:11-15).

Some contend that Jesus’ appearance was simply an illusion. He was a figment of their imagination. In response, Scripture tells us that Jesus proved he was real by doing things ghosts don’t do, like eating fish (Luke 24:42) and having his nail-pierced hands touched (Luke 24:39). He also appeared to 500 people at one time (1 Corinthians 15:6). Hallucinations don’t work well in mass crowds.

Finally, some argue that Jesus wasn’t really dead; he just ‘swooned’ and then revived in the cool air of the tomb. But the evidence argues strongly against this. After being condemned to be crucified, Jesus was scourged nearly to the point of death. In fact, he was so weak that he could not even carry his 30-40 pound cross (Luke 23:26). After he died, he had 75 pounds of spices placed on top of him (John 19:39). Doesn’t it seems like a stretch to think that after he has been confirmed dead, he can now miraculously shoulder double the weight?

The clear evidence for Jesus’ resurrection is not simply an interesting fact. We do not stand in judgment of it; it stands in judgment of us. The disciples, energized by seeing their risen Savior, proclaimed, “[God] has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead” (Acts 17:31). Because he rose from the dead, he is now the judge of all men. How will we respond to this evidence?

Viewing Trials Biblically

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness” (James 1:2-3)

There is something profound about the way James views hard times. Difficulties in life, of all shapes and colors (“various kinds”), are not view as an irritation, a nuisance, or a tragedy. They are viewed as a testing of one’s faith. How profound is this!

I am convinced that if we understand this as believers, this will radically change the way we face these difficulties.

If we believe that what comes out of us flows from what is inside of us, then we should view trials as tests of our faith rather than as inconveniences. They reveal who we are; they do not cause us to be something we aren’t.

Paul Tripp gives a helpful illustration of this truth. Taking a bottle of water, Tripp will shake it, splashing the water onto the ground. He then asks the question, “Why did water come out of the bottle?” The immediate answer usually is, “Because you shook it.” While that is the cause as to why water came out, that that is not the ultimate answer. The correct answer is, “Because water was inside the bottle.” The shaking did not produce the water; it simply revealed it.

So it is with us. Hard times reveal who we really are. They are, as James says, a testing of our faith. In this loss of a job, will we be dependent upon the Lord? We may say we are, but are we really? As our bodies age, is our confidence in our intelligence or our athleticism or in our beauty, or is it in the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

A lack of hardships is not good, for we will never realize who we really are. Trials do not change us; they reveal who we are.

So, count it all joy when hard times come in your life. They are a gracious gift from a sovereign God who is bringing them to reveal to you what your heart is really like. And even if there is some nasty filth that comes out of your heart, isn’t God good that he would reveal this to us? What a gift these trials are!

Christianity: Glorious News, Not Burdensome Advice

For many, Christianity is not good news. It is perceived as a burden, a weight, a guilt trip. Many think it is an endless ladder of self-improvement that must be climbed, never knowing when one has grasped the favor of God.

But this is not what the Bible teaches. The core message of the Bible is the gospel, which means “good news.” So when you boil down all of the sermons, the hymns, the baptisms, and the celebrations of the Lord’s Supper, what is it about the message of the Christian faith that actually makes it good news?

The Apostle Paul sums up the things of ‘first importance’: “That Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4, ESV).

Notice who does the acting. It is Christ who died, who was buried, who was raised. It was not us. The good news is not a cooperative effort. We are not partners with Christ in the work of redemption. He does all the work for us. That is why Jesus’ last words before he died were “It is finished,” not “It has begun” (John 19:30).

But here is the problem: we have a very hard time believing that everything has truly been accomplished. Rather than realizing that Christ’s blood will cover our sin, we talk about how we must get our lives “cleaned up” before we come to Christ. Rather than testifying to Christ’s perfect substitution, we twist Christianity to be only about our personal transformation. Rather than understanding that our righteousness is from Christ and in him, we talk about being a “good Christian.” In short, Christianity becomes a burdensome religion about what we must do, rather than a declaration of what has been done.

Consider how glorious news it is if everything has indeed been done by Christ.

Because Christ bore the wrath of God on the cross, we have the approval of God and can stop living for the acceptance of others. Because Christ’s resume of perfection is ours by faith, we can finally admit our weaknesses and sins. Because of what Christ has done, my improvement will come from God’s approval; God’s approval will not come from my improvement.

What good news the gospel is!

Lack of Faith and Acting Like an Animal

What wonderful news this was! The angel Gabriel just promised the old man Zechariah that he would be the father of a baby boy named John who will be great before the Lord. He would be the only human to be filled with the Holy Spirit for one’s whole life (including before birth!). With the spirit and power of Elijah resting upon him, he would turn the hearts of many toward God. What a forerunner this little boy would be!

But how did Zechariah respond? He responded to God’s word spoken through Gabriel with doubt. “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years” (Luke 1:18). Gabriel rebukes him for his lack of faith, and closes his mouth and shuts his ears until the baby would be born (for evidence of him being deaf, look at Luke 1:62).

Is there any significance in Zechariah going mute and deaf? I think so. God has graciously endowed all humans with certain body parts so that they would be used properly, namely, to glorify him. God had given Zechariah ears to hear his word and a mouth to speak words of faith. Ironically, Zechariah used his ears to doubt God’s word and his mouth to speaks words of distrust and fear. In doing so, Zechariah was acting more like an animal than a human. Therefore, to be a permanent reminder to us all, God took away his senses to show how un-human he was acting. In fact, whenever we lack faith, we are not acting as a true human. To be fully human is to use the members of our body exactly as God designed them, that is, in faith.

So, act as a human today.

Use your mouth to proclaim the wonderful glories of Jesus.

Use your ears to hear words of truth and respond in faith.

Use your eyes as channels that take in God’s wonderful creation, and let what you behold be fuel on the fire of your faith.

Use your mind to humbly ponder the acts and promises of God, and may that propel you on a deeper dependence of God.

Learn from Zechariah, and act like you were meant to be and not like an animal.