Christmas has come and gone and soon we will be celebrating
another new year. Christmas is a season of celebration and of joy. The good
news is that God has given us the precious gift of His only beloved Son. The
question before us is how we can share the joy of Christmas - the good news
that Jesus will make a difference in our lives and in the lives of those we
meet.
The reality is that all of us are struggling with
weaknesses, addictions, fear, pride and guilt. We are like the Jews who were in
bondage in Egypt. We are all slaves to sin through our egos. Jesus did not come
to demand that we give up our pleasures in life. He came to set us free from
our slavery to sin so that we can transcend the 4 “F”s of the primitive instincts
of feeding, fighting, fleeing and reproduction (fornication) which lead us to
greed, anger, fear and lust.
It is only when we are set free from sin that we will be
able to live the abundant life as children of our loving Heavenly Father. But
God’s free gift of salvation means nothing to us if we feel that we have not
sinned. But all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans
3: 10-12)
The first step is therefore of repentance – to acknowledge
our slavery to our egos, the world and the evil one. We need to be like the
prodigal son who came to his senses after losing all he had. We need to be like
the alcohol addict who recognizes his helplessness to overcome his
addiction and to turn to God for the power to do so.
Jesus is the answer to all the problems we are facing in the
world. Jesus is the turning point of human history and mankind has made
tremendous advances in society over the past 2000 years. However, we must be
careful not to be overzealous or self-righteous to force others to accept our
beliefs. Jesus is the gospel that the
world needs to see manifested in each one of our lives. As I held my newborn
grand-daughter in my arms, it was an experience that brought to mind my need to rest in the
arms of our Heavenly Father. The cries of the newborn are also a symptom that we
are born into a world of pain and suffering. But Jesus died on the cross to set
us free from guilt, fear and death.
Jesus came as a new born
child to teach us that we need to be like the new born in our dependence on
God. Our calling as followers of Jesus is to be the
windows for the world through which they can see Jesus lifted up in our lives and He will draw all men to
Himself.
We do not need to try to be good or righteous. What we need is to learn
to surrender our will to Jesus Christ as Lord in our hearts. But this is not
such an easy thing to do. It is by
faith that we live out the mystery of Jesus as the incarnation of God – Jesus with
us and in us. This is what makes our Christian faith different from the other
religions. Let us therefore live as children of God, not in our own strength
but because Christ is in us.
May 2014 be a year filled with
the love, joy and peace of God as revealed in Jesus Christ.
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