Unto Us It Is Given

In the beginning was the Word (the Living Expression of God), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him (his creative inspiration) all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made (for nothing has existence apart from him!). In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind – John 1:1-4, NIV (parentheses, The Passion Translation).

“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” – which means “God with us,” – Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth – John 1:14.

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me,” – John 14:6

“If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world,” – John 12:47

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, to be received by faith – Romans 3:23-25.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord – Romans 6:23

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved – Romans 10:9

For it is by grace you had been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – Ephesians 2:8

For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God, – 2 Corinthians 1:20

Jesus was God’s strategic plan from before the beginning of time. He desired us to be his bride – a creation who would rule and reign with him in perfect love and unity. We chose differently. We chose self-interest and self-determination. That’s the risk inherent in giving us free will – the choice of whether to give love freely and receive love freely.
But God was not surprised by our choices. Nor did he reject and abandon us. He equally and fully rendered justice (the consequence of our rejection) and mercy (a proxy who would take our punishment) to absolve our corruption and make us pure again.
Unto us, it has been given the fullness of God’s favor. It is Christ Jesus – the creative Word made flesh. In him, we have been set free from the burden of guilt and shame. In him we have life, and even life eternal. That’s our destiny.
Unto us it is given the most unfathomable, incomprehensible, invaluable gift of love – the creative expression of God, humbled and emptied of his glory, to become one of us – a child, a sacrifice, a Savior.

Unto us it has been given all the wonders of Christmas!
Wishing you and your loved ones a wonder-filled Christmas season.