Quiet your mind and imagine with me - God is approached by Gabriel: "What
is it Gabriel?”… “Yes, I know they have eaten from it”… “I knew they would.”...”No
they cannot stay in the garden, it would be deadly for them.”…”Yes they will
die…Don't cry, I have a plan…You must wait"
Centuries later – “Today is the day Gabriel!”…Go…Go to
Mary in Nazareth and tell her."
Luke 1:26–35 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy,
God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged
to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said,
“Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to
think what the angel could mean. “Don’t
be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a
son, and you will name him Jesus. He
will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God
will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever;
his Kingdom will never end!” Mary
asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.” The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit
will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the
baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.
John 3:16–17 “For God loved the world so much that he gave
his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but
have eternal life. God sent his Son into the
world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
Sadly, much of the world has tried and convicted God…ignoring
all the facts. They make Him appear to be like the gods of the Greeks or
Romans. Selfish, moody and playing games with humans. The record from scripture
testifies to the very opposite! Even when it came to the garden, God’s
concern was for us!
Genesis 3:22–24 Then
the Lord God said, “Behold, the
man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch
out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate
the ground from which he was taken. So
He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the
cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to
the tree of life.
Some important issues here, Man would have known good and evil
either way. If he had resisted the temptation to eat, he would know good and
evil by exoeriencing good, and would have confirmed holy. However, he went the
other way, and when he did that he was separated from God spiritually. If he were
to eat of the tree of life he would live forever separated, so God in His mercy
drove man from the garden and protected the tree, so man would die physically…but
God would be able to offer redemption.
Not exactly cruel or selfish…is it?
That first Christmas was the ultimate statement of the Creator
God’s
heart for His creation!
Scripture makes it clear that the cost of our redemption would
be God Himself! God the Father will not wink at sin, it must be paid in full…but
only One could make that payment…God!
Hebrews 10:5–7 That is why, when Christ came into the
world, he said to God, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings.
But you have given me a body to offer. You
were not pleased with burnt offerings or other offerings for sin. Then I said, ‘Look, I have come to do
your will, O God— as is written about me in the Scriptures.’ ”
This was an act of total self denial and unconditional love.
On Dec 6 1988, my youngest son, Zach…only 1½ years old
brought this Truth to a reality in a way I have never forgotten. Dee and I were
carrying into the house the freshly cut family Christmas tree we had just as a
family gone and cut down. Christ and Cilla were playing with friend right
across the street. As we went into the door, Zach crawled under the tree out to
the front yard. He saw his brother and sister, and began walking to them. Dee
and I heard the screeching of car tires…we looked and there in the middle of
the street was a car and it’s front bumper was about 6 inches from Zach’s head.
Dee and I both screamed and ran out into the road. Dee grabbed Zach, who had no
idea of how close he had come to dying, I went to the driver, which I could see
almost had a heart attack. She was so shaken because she realized how close she
came to hitting and most likely killing Zach. I asked for her forgiveness and
explained we thought he was in the house, because that’s where he was when we
opened the front door. That night I lay in bed unable to sleep, the thought of
losing my son was overwhelming. I would have lost him due to an accident, would
I be willing to lose him deliberately to save a person…maybe even a person that
does not care about me? What our Father did is beyond my comprehension!
Let’s just consider some of the great cost God paid:
·
(1) Paid it for His enemies
Romans 5:10 For if while we were enemies we were
reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been
reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
We are not talking only about people that made a mistake and
said I'm sorry. These are people that hate God and want nothing to do with Him.
·
(2) Paid it with no help from us
Romans 8:3 The law of Moses was unable to save us because
of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He
sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body
God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice
for our sins.
Realize God did this with no strings attached! He still leaves
the choice to you and I if we want a relationship with Him. The price has been
paid in full whether you accept it or not. However, He leaves up to you if you
want to apply the payment and be redeemed.
·
(3) Paid it Himself
Romans 8:32 He who did not spare His own Son, but
delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all
things?
The Father allowed humans to murder His Son, but the Father
poured His wrath and judgment on His own Son to fulfill the payment due sin.
That is not the work of a “cruel” God, but a sacrificial and loving God.
God held nothing back on that first Christmas. Perhaps it would
be beneficial if we meditate today and ask ourselves…have we held back
anything from Him?
