Christmas morning 2024. Last night, we attended a Christmas Eve service. Two words were quietly spoken among all the words of song, scripture, and story. Those two words changed everything, change everything. They are the reason for Christmas, the core of Christ’s birth.
What are those powerful words? “But God.” It doesn’t seem like much, do they? Let’s consider something that Paul wrote in Ephesians. Paul begins, “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the disobedient. We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also.” (Ephesians 2:1–3, CSB) What utter darkness and hopelessness we lived. Even if we managed to live a “good and moral” life, we were still carried away by selfish desires and demonic whispers.
Paul continues, “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace! He also raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might display the immeasurable riches of his grace through his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:4–7, CSB) But God… In those two words, everything changed.
In another letter, Paul writes, “But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8, CSB) God acted on our behalf even though we didn’t deserve it. None of us did. None of us do. For many, that is a hard thing to grapple with. We don’t see ourselves as sinful folks under wrath. And, sure, our sin doesn’t come close to the darkness we see in others. And yet, the wages due for our sins are the same as those of others. God doesn’t grade us on a curve,
But God acted. Jesus, God the Son, was born in a humble place to humble people. He grew, lived, ministered, taught, healed, and died a convict’s death, even though innocent and sinless. “For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, CSB) So that you and I would not perish but have eternal life.
Not only does “But God” change the world, it changes our lives. It changes us.
- Two Words that Change Everything - December 25, 2024
- Promises: A Child Shall be Born - December 23, 2024
- Promises: God Prospers… - December 18, 2024