Unwrapping
the GiftVeiled in flesh the
Godhead see
Hail the incarnate Deity
Pleased as man with man to dwell
Jesus, our Emmanuel
- Hark the Herald Angels Sing, vs. 2, Charles Wesley
"Jesus is the reason for the season" is only part of
the story of Christmas. What we see represented in art and story
of Jesus' birth in a manger is only the wrapping on a much greater gift
of God's love, mercy and grace...Jesus' death and resurrection.
The hymnist, Charles Wesley, has captured this great
truth in his Christmas hymn, "Hark the Herald Angels Sing". Jesus'
human body is only the "veil" of God himself, the wrapping. Jesus
becomes "God with us, Emmanuel." The reason for his wrapping himself in
Jesus is to shed his blood on a cross for us to be close to God, again,
and to have all our sins washed away in His sight. We can now be
friends with God because he hung his gift of forgiveness on the tree of
Calvary (the cross) wrapped in Jesus who gave his life for us who were
so far away.
Col. 1:19-22 (NLT)
For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, [20] and by
him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything
in heaven and on earth by means of his blood on the cross. [21] This
includes you who were once so far away from God. You were his enemies,
separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions, [22] yet now he
has brought you back as his friends. He has done this through his death
on the cross in his own human body. As a result, he has brought you into
the very presence of God, and you are holy and blameless as you stand
before him without a single fault.
Like the gifts under our Christmas trees, they remain
only wrapped boxes with our names on the labels until the gifts are
unwrapped and received. Then the gifts our truly ours.
Will you receive the gift God wrapped in Jesus and hung on the true tree
of Christmas, the Cross. If you do, you will know the true "reason
for the season."
(John 1:12-14 NIV)
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave
the right to become children of God-- [13] children born not of natural
descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.
[14] The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen
his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full
of grace and truth.
Merry Christmas, enjoy your gift.
by
Pastor John
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