“She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” — Matthew 1:21
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Savior. It’s a concept often mentioned in the sports world.
“This new big-name coach will be the savior of the program!” Or, “This blockbuster trade will save the season!” Or, “This pricey new free agent will correct all of the team’s flaws!” It very well may be the case that a new coach or a new player will lead to more wins, but even so, that coach won’t win every game and that player won’t make every shot. Eventually, the coach will move on and the player will diminish in productivity, and the team will be left lacking once again, just like it was before.
But on this Christmas morning, let us rejoice, because our Savior is different. Today we remember that a little more than 2,000 years ago, our Heavenly Father sent His one and only Son to earth not as a king like so many thought but as a baby, to a poor couple from Nazareth, laid amongst the animals, to do what only God could do: “save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). He was Immanuel, “God with us.”
Jesus wouldn’t have been offered a massive contract, and He wouldn’t have garnered the highest trade value. Jesus came bringing a kingdom of a better sort, the Kingdom of God, where “the last will be first, and first will be last” (Matthew 20:16). It’s a Kingdom that “is not a matter of talk but of power” (1 Corinthians 4:20), and it’s a Kingdom where greatness is found in serving others.
Jesus came not “to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). He came to serve you, and He came to serve me. About 33 years after His miraculous birth, He served us in a way no one else and no other thing can: Because of the great love with which He loved us, He saved us once and for all out of the darkness of our sin in which we were trapped, and brought us into the marvelous light of the Kingdom of God.
So while you’re opening presents this morning and gorging yourself at dinner tonight, remember Jesus, and His good news. He is the best gift and truest source of joy. The Savior of the world has come! And His salvation lasts forever!
— Kevin Mercer
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