What are you passionate about this Christmas? Be honest! What is passion? Passion is a strong, barely controllable emotion. So I ask again, what are you passionate about?
Did you know that God is passionate about you? Truly passionate. You see, He created you and I in His likeness according to Genesis 1. The bible says that we are fearfully and wonderfully made by our Creator. We were fashioned and formed by Him. According to Luke 12, He knows how many hairs are on your head. In Zephaniah, it says that He rejoices over us! Wow that is hard to comprehend. Jeremiah says that His love for us is an everlasting love. A love that never ends. His initial desire was to have a unique relationship with mankind. We are all born with that innate desire for Him. We find that He walked and talked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Their creator communing with them!
So what happened? Sin. When Adam and Eve sinned, it brought separation from God. We see them being removed from Eden and the bible no longer speaks of that special relationship between God and them. Sin and God can’t commune. So a plan was set in motion right from the foundation of the world.
God made a plan that would restore that relationship with Him and mankind that He created. God promised a seed that would come from the woman in Genesis Chapter 3 that would strike the head of that serpent bka satan. He has been pursuing us since the beginning. From Adam and Eve forward we see them offering to God sacrifices and offerings. Sacrifices acknowledge sin and offerings acknowledge God. We acknowledged we did wrong but that sin was never removed. And no matter what, we just couldn’t get it right. So God made a plan to redeem us from sin, once for all. Once sin is removed, that relationship with Him is restored.
How? God would send His only son, that perfect sacrifice to live, to die and to rise again. His blood shed in death would pay our penalty for sin for without the shedding of blood, according to His Word, there is no remission of sin. His resurrection would make a way for us to eternally live with Him.
Isaiah 9 says that a child would be born FOR us, a son will be given TO us. As the angel explained his conception to Joseph in Matthew, he said that his name would be Immanuel, God is with us! B O O M! There it is. God with us. Forever. He would be born to save people from their sins. God sent His son into the would not to condemn it but that it might be saved.
We all sin so we need a savior. JESUS IS that savior. How can we be saved? God’s Spirit draws us to Him. According to Romans 10 we acknowledge Him, His death, His resurrection and believe. I John says that if we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. Jesus preached repentance for forgiveness of sins. Repent means reversal, to reconsider. Turn around. 360.
God made it simple. We make it complicated.
HE is passionate for you. What gift are you giving Him this Christmas? All He wants is you! Just as you are. Believe, confess, repent. RECEIVE Him. Receive forgiveness.
Merry Christmas y’all! May His love fill your heart!