"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."
Luke 2:11
I like that the angel told the shepherds that a savior was born to them... for them. Christ came for all of us, the whole world, and died for all of us too, but his life and death aren't abstract concepts that only apply to humanity as a whole. His birth mattered specifically to the shepherds in the field, just as it specifically matters to us today... individually, not just collectively. When we read that verse above, that "you" means YOU. You, the person reading this. YOU, the person that Christ lived for, and died for. Yes, there are a lot of us, but that doesn't dilute or diminish the fact that he did it for you, and for me, and that he cares about us as specific human beings, with specific challenges and gifts, and that he was willing to suffer for our sins... individually, not just collectively, and that he can understand what things are like for us as individuals, because he has been in our shoes... not just in an academic sense, but because he has suffered for *our* sins. Think anyone can know you better than that? :)
Today, let's try to feel the joy that the angels were bringing to the shepherds when they announced Christ's birth... it was a glorious day, for them, for the world, but also for us. His birth brought us the greatest gift that we will ever be given... the chance to grow and change and repent... to inherit eternal life, not just physically, but spiritually, if we follow the path that our Savior laid out for us. And this Christmas season, let's not think about Christ as an abstract concept or a far-off idea. For unto us, not just unto them, a savior lives, today... which is Christ the Lord.
Luke 2:11
I like that the angel told the shepherds that a savior was born to them... for them. Christ came for all of us, the whole world, and died for all of us too, but his life and death aren't abstract concepts that only apply to humanity as a whole. His birth mattered specifically to the shepherds in the field, just as it specifically matters to us today... individually, not just collectively. When we read that verse above, that "you" means YOU. You, the person reading this. YOU, the person that Christ lived for, and died for. Yes, there are a lot of us, but that doesn't dilute or diminish the fact that he did it for you, and for me, and that he cares about us as specific human beings, with specific challenges and gifts, and that he was willing to suffer for our sins... individually, not just collectively, and that he can understand what things are like for us as individuals, because he has been in our shoes... not just in an academic sense, but because he has suffered for *our* sins. Think anyone can know you better than that? :)
Today, let's try to feel the joy that the angels were bringing to the shepherds when they announced Christ's birth... it was a glorious day, for them, for the world, but also for us. His birth brought us the greatest gift that we will ever be given... the chance to grow and change and repent... to inherit eternal life, not just physically, but spiritually, if we follow the path that our Savior laid out for us. And this Christmas season, let's not think about Christ as an abstract concept or a far-off idea. For unto us, not just unto them, a savior lives, today... which is Christ the Lord.
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