I was asked to share about the good news of Jesus during our Christmas party with our students. What in the world was I going to say?!
Teaching English this month has opened my eyes to see how Buddhists do not think they do anything wrong… and they don’t really. Cambodians are some of the truly kindest people I have ever had the joy of knowing. My students don’t break the law and they are not mean. They do not steal or yell or do anything obviously wrong because they believe in karma. They certainly don’t kill people. If they do bad things in this life, their next life will be worse. Eventually, they will do enough good things to get to God, but they can do it on their own, so that is what they believe.
And really, what about most of us? When we watch the news and compare our lives with others’, we aren’t so bad either are we? Most of us are not perpetually in jail and even fewer of us are murders. We do a lot more good than bad, so that counts for something, right?
So how does someone like me share who Jesus is? How do I share with someone, who does no wrong, how Jesus healed my broken heart and made a way for me, someone who cannot do anything right, to be right before God? How can I share how desperately I need Jesus because I continually fail to love well? I snap when people annoy me or when they fail to live up to how I expect they should act or not act. I shut down when I feel rejected and don’t know what else to do. I am selfish and rude and am reminded daily of how much I fall short. I do not smile enough or give enough hugs. I hurt peoples’ feelings a lot and am, by far, the least lovable out of any other Christian. So how can I, someone who so obviously needs Jesus, share with someone so obviously better than myself, how precious He is? How can I share with someone that we all truly need this wonderful, gracious, tenderhearted God?
I want to share with you what the Lord brought to mind for me to share with the students because when it comes down to it, it is so easy to say that Christmas is the day we celebrate the day Jesus was born. It is so easy to say that Christmas is the day our God and Savior came to live as a man, among men, but what does this all really mean anyway?
Do we really grasp what the Lord did for us? Do we really need a Savior? Or is it so much of a tradition and repeated words that have become ingrained in our minds as the right things to say and think that we have not truly understood the magnitude of what the Lord brought to earth the day Jesus entered our world?
I would like to share with you what the Lord revealed to me and may the Lord speak to us all as He desires:
A long time ago, God gave His law to His people. This law taught us to love God and to love one another. God taught us to be kind to one another and take care of each other, but there was no one who could do everything right all of the time. People mess up and make mistakes. Some people mess up a little and some people mess up a lot, but it is all the same because when we mess up, we are separated from God and God tells us that:
The cost we must pay for not obeying the law is death. (Romans 6:23)
And
Whoever obeys the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. (James 2:10)
So, we can never work our way to God. We can never do enough good things to be reconciled to God because even one wrong thing keeps us disconnected from God. Even if we do more good things than bad things, there is still bad in us and we cannot stand right before God.
Because God knew that we could never do enough good things to get to heaven and be right before Him, He came down from heaven to earth as the man, Jesus Christ. God was still 100% God. He was fully God, but came to live with us, among us and as we live – in a human body with the same struggles, the same challenges and the same limitations.
And this is why we celebrate Christmas, because this is the day God came to earth to live among His people.
But God didn’t just come to live with us, He came to heal us.
Matthew 5:21-22, 27-28
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Jesus taught us that we all have failed, every single one of us. Even those of us who try really hard to do everything right have failed because even our bad thoughts keep us separated from God and require the punishment of death.
So what hope do we have?
We have Jesus.
He came to live a perfect life and to teach us how to live. He did no wrong. He thought no wrong and said no wrong things. He came to be perfect in every way so He could take our place and endure the punishment of death that we deserve. Though Jesus did nothing wrong, He was killed by His people in the worst possible way in that time period; He was crucified on a cross. His hands and feet were nailed to a wooden cross and He was left hanging there until He died.
He really died. The man of Jesus, the God of the world, died a very painful death on a cross. He was buried and stayed 3 days before He picked His life back up and rose from the dead.
When we die, we are really dead, we did not give ourselves life in the first place, so we cannot bring ourselves back to life from the dead. BUT, God is the giver of all life. When He humbled Himself to die on the cross to pay for every single time we failed to obey the law, for every single time we failed to love, He also had the power and authority to overcome death and rise up again to life.
It is that life that saves us. It is that life that is our hope.
Jesus tells us:
Matthew 11:28-30
“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Jesus tells us to bring all of our worries and burdens and everything we cannot do right. He tells us to bring Him our broken families and broken friendships and broken relationships. He tells us to bring him our struggles with school and parenting, our jobs and our lack. He tells us to give Him everything that we are trying so hard to do right and He will give us rest because He already came and did everything right. All we must do is trust Him and learn from Him, to do life His way. We must trust that what He did for us by dying on the cross in our place was enough to reconcile us to God.
Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)
But to all who did receive Him, to all who received Jesus, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God (John 1:12)
And this is our God. This is Jesus, Who came as the hope of the world.
Isaiah 9:6
For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 61:1-3
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on Me,
because the Lord has anointed Me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
and provide for those who grieve in Zion-
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of His splendor.
Let us be still and know that He is Lord and let us stand in awe of His great love for us!
Let us trust in Him and rejoice together for all He has done for us!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
