Looking for Christmasنموونە

Looking at Jesus

The child born in the manger in Bethlehem divided the calendar from BC (before Christ) to AD (anno Domini, or the “year[s] of the Lord"), or what many today refer to as the Common Era. Not just any man can split the calendar, but only the most important man of all, who changed human history—Jesus!

The Savior was born who would take away the sin of the world. The only way that Jesus could do that was by being fully God and fully human. When Jesus took on the form of man, He faced every sin and took on every heartache that man experiences. It is only a Savior who is fully human who can die. Because He was fully God, Jesus could live a sinless life and take on all our sins as He hung on the cross in our place. There have been no other gods in history who could do that except one. Within those table walls, cradled in the arms of His mother, was that Savior.

Jesus redeemed us from our sins by dying on the cross in our place and provided a way for us to come to the Father. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6 NLT). He took all our sins on Himself and then gave us His righteousness, which makes it possible for us to be made just before God and have membership in His kingdom. If you’re keeping track, Jesus has done everything for us. We dump all our sins on Him, and He makes us just before God.

Without Jesus, each one of us would die in our sins, eternally separated from God and eternity in heaven. Those who believe and put their faith in Jesus come to the realization that through Him, their past can be forgiven and completely wiped clean in the eyes of God. We are freed from the bondage of sin. When we make Jesus our Savior, death no longer has power over us.

The infant in the manger grew up and took our sins upon Himself, providing us a way to the Father, and the Father adopts each one of us, bringing us into His kingdom. We are chosen, and we are His.

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We hope this plan was helpful to you. You can read more from Donna Van Liere in her book, Looking for Christmas, available here.