“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” — Isaiah 7:14
One of the most exciting sporting events to watch every year is the NCAA basketball tournament, a 68-team playoff to see who becomes the national champion. It’s nicknamed “March Madness” because of the crazy upsets that few people predict.
In 2011, VCU was one of the last four teams in the tournament. The Rams won their play-in game against USC, then rattled off wins over Georgetown, Purdue, Florida State and No. 1-seeded Kansas. Their run to the Final Four was one of the most improbable and exciting upsets in sports history.
A little more than 2,000 years ago, a different kind of upset took place. It was one that was predicted by different prophets over many different generations. It was when our God decided to send down His Son as the Savior for humankind.
Prior to taking on human form, Jesus sat on a throne at the right hand of God in Heaven. He was worshiped by angels and lived in paradise, so why on earth would He want to leave this place? Why would the Creator of the universe leave His throne in Heaven to live amongst sinners?
The answer to this question was one that sin and death could never anticipate, one that Satan couldn’t understand, and one that has changed the course of human history.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” — John 3:16
The answer is love. He loved us so much that He was willing to do the unfathomable, something that made no sense — leave everything to save us. We could not go to God, so God came to us. A true upset.
This Christmas, remember what this day represents: The day God left Heaven — a place without sin, hurt, loss or pain — to come to earth and live amongst sin, pain and death.
He came to us so we could have the chance to live in eternity with Him!
— Nik Pry
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