If you’ve had to opportunity to watch children, I’m sure you’ve noticed that they live in a world of their own. Children aren’t interested in how much money is left in the check book at the end of month. They simply expect food on the table when it’s time to eat. Children aren’t interested in the difficulties you had with your boss this week. They want you to come and play with them. You see, children can’t come into your world, they don’t really understand it. So, we as parents must come into our children’s world to show them our love.
Even as adults, we too are children of our heavenly Father and we really can’t understand everything about God who dwells in heaven. NIV Isaiah 55:8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. Yet as children, we need to experience our Father’s love. As children, we’ve been disobedient and become estranged from our Father. And as children, there’s nothing that we can do to make things right
So, at Christmas, 2000 years ago, God the Father took the first step toward His disobedient children. He sent His only Son Jesus into the world of His children. And Jesus was sent, not simply as a divine being, but fully human as well. For us to understand Him, He came as a baby who grew into adulthood. The story is so familiar that we don’t appreciate the how mind-blowing it all is. God Himself became a human baby.
Why did Jesus come to earth this way? So that you and I could experience God’s love. Today, my Christmas message is entitled “Experience God’s Love In Jesus.” God wants you to experience His love in Jesus. Although Jesus came for everyone, not everyone experiences His love. Experiencing God’s love is the greatest thing in life, it’s the greatest thing in eternity. NIV 1 John 4:10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. God sent His Son Jesus to be born into our world and ultimately to be put to death by the people He came to love. Jesus came into our world, knowing that He would experience death on a cross. Yet, through that death, He would make it possible for God’s disobedient children to be brought back into the Father’s house.
So today, we’re going to take a little time out of the busyness of the season. We’re going to reflect on how God showed His love to us at Christmas. As we do, my prayer is that each one of us would experience for ourselves, God’s love in Jesus in a fresh way.
To hear more about this topic, listen to my December 24, 2006 message entitled Experience God’s Love In Jesus