Merry Christmas! I hope you had a lot of fun and got to spend time with family. Like a lot of people, I’ve found myself thinking more about the Christmas story and why we celebrate. Not just Jesus’ birth, but what it means for everyone. 

Who is Jesus? What’s His role in the Trinity? 

He was there at creation, when God made the garden and set up Adam and Eve to live with Him. Not only was He there, but the act of creation was done through Him. Jesus is the Word of God.

He was promised in the same breath as the curse when sin entered the world. He’s the offspring of Eve, the One to bruise the serpent’s head, the One whose heel the serpent will bruise. 

He was prophesied throughout the Old Testament. In the midst of Israel’s exile, God had the prophet Jeremiah promising restoration and new life for future generations. New life with God. No more exile. Because God never intended to leave us lost. He always intended to bring us back to Him. 

There’s a book that I read to my godkids recently, one they’ve had me read to them a few times, that I think perfectly illustrates this idea. It’s called The Biggest Story and it tells the history of the world from the time of Adam and Eve’s first sin to current day, in a kid-friendly way. 

It talks about God leading us back to the garden. How He created the garden of Eden to be a perfect paradise, both because of the garden itself and because of the fact that He could dwell with His people in person, no veils. 

And then He led Israel to the promised land, first promising it to Abraham and then building up his descendants until they were the nation He’d promised them to be. This promised land was a lot like the original garden and God set up a covenant with His people to dwell with them in the way that was possible then, with a temple and veils and priests. 

And then He sent Jesus to be the greatest High Priest, to fulfill that covenant to bring us even closer, no need for a veil in between. Jesus came to be our Emmanuel, God with us. He came to be God among us in the way that was possible and to make that way even more accessible for everybody. 

Now we get the Holy Spirit to live inside us. We get God dwelling within us. As close as we can get before eternity with Him in person. Before we can go back to the perfect communion with God, like in the garden. 

Think about that for a second. Think about what Jesus did for you. He left all of Heaven to come here. To be made fun of, plotted against, arrested, and even killed. All so we could be with Him again. What kind of love must He have for you to do all that for you? 

Paul says in Romans that Jesus didn’t come for our polished and perfected selves either. He didn’t come for our potential or in hopes of a good deal. He’s been committed to us from the start. He loves us even before we love Him. Even if we hated Him. That’s the kind of love He has for you. 

And the same way that God never intended to leave us lost but always intended to bring us back to Him, He won’t leave us unfinished either. He sees our mess, even the messes we’ve caused with our own hands, and He transforms us. More than that, we’re dead before He gets us. He breathes new life into us. We’re not just saved, we’re brand new creations. He gives us victory over sin and death themselves. He saves us from the death that we’re already in and gives us new life. 

The gospel is honestly amazing when you think about it. The God of the universe, who could so easily just scrap all of this and start fresh, has so much love for us that He willingly chases us down to get us back. Even when we’re so unwilling. He could let us go. But He loves us too much to do that. He’s taking His time, waiting, to allow as many as possible into His kingdom, into salvation and a relationship with Him. 

He wants so much to take away all the things that sin has done to this world, all the hurt and anger and pain. To replace it with grace and mercy and new life. But you have to accept it. 

Have you accepted that salvation yet? That new life? That relationship He wants so badly to have with you?