O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

If ever the world was crying out for a Savior, it is now.

One doesn't have to be a prophet to see that the world is headed in a downward spiral.  World economies are crashing, millions of people cannot find work, and we watch in horror the steady march of governments that rule by terror and inhumane cruelty, the aborting of millions of unborn children, the enslavement of women and children for sexual exploitation, the erosion of morality that even ten years ago was not imagined, and on and on.

Into this world of sin and despair came our Savior on a cold, harsh night so long ago.  Was He uninformed?  Did He think it would be a much 'kinder, gentler' place than it really was?  Was He shocked at the horrifying realities of the world He was born into?  Did He wonder how He ended up in a stable on the night of His birth?  Did He know He was born to die for the very sinners who would hate Him and nail Him to a cross? Was He sorry He was ever born?

If it had been anyone other than Jesus, the answer would surely be, yes.  But the incredible reality is that Jesus knew it all before it happened and fully consented to be the Lamb that was born that night - the same Lamb to be brutally, mercilessly slain on the cross.  Why would anyone do this?  Why?

The Gospel of John tells us the reason: "For God so loved the world..."  Amazing, incredible, unbounded love that would agree to take on our corrupted flesh and live among a sinful and rebellious people. He so loved us...  How amazing a truth is contained in those few words.  May I never get over the miracle of His love for me, while I was yet a sinner with no redeeming grace to be found without His love for me.

This is what we really celebrate on the night of Jesus' birth.  He came to die.  For a world that had lost hope and descended into the hell of sin unbridled.  He came to be with us.  Emmanuel.  He still comes into the same kind of world.  We can't fix this world.  We so need our Savior.  Come, Lord, Jesus.  Come quickly and save your people from our sin.

Scripture Reference:  John 3:16   NKJV

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."