The Old Testament: Backstory to Christmasنمونه

Day 2: A Path to a Relationship With God

Today, let’s begin with God. God is holy—so holy, that perfection is His standard, and for us to be in a relationship with Him, we need to be sinless—in other words, perfect. The problem is, all humans have inherited this fleshly sinful nature from Adam and Eve and we, therefore, are not, and cannot be perfect. In other words, we cannot help but sin-it is part of our human nature!

As weird as it may sound, God’s requirement for atonement or the payment for sin is via the shedding of blood. To allow for the Israelites to be able to be in a relationship with Him, God established a plan in which the Israelites could have their sins forgiven by offering blood sacrifices of various animals. Vast sections of the Old Testament lay forth very specific instructions for how, and when these animal sacrifices were to be made. Still, the Israelites struggled under this system of making animal sacrifices as payment for their sins, mainly because it did not address the true issue, which is the sinful, fleshly nature.

There’s Got to Be a Better Way

Meanwhile, in the background, God had already initiated His ultimate plan to resolve this dilemma way back in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve had first sinned. His plan involved establishing a new covenant with his people. Whereas the first covenant was based on the laws of God and adhering to those laws, the new covenant would be based on GRACE and the renewal of our hearts! The first glimpse we have of this better way was when God said to the serpent (Satan), 

“I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.” Genesis 3:15 NLT

The offspring to which God is referring is Jesus, who would be born of very unusual circumstances centuries later. Jesus, who is the Son of God, is unique in that He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of a virgin, and therefore, He did not inherit the sinful fleshly nature. He went on to live a sinless life, and later died a sacrificial death which atoned for all of our sins—thus providing the way for us to be in a relationship with God our Father! Jesus struck the head of Satan and defeated his deadly plan for us, but it cost Jesus sacrificing His own life on the cross of crucifixion.

That’s the Whole Point of Jesus’ Birth

As we celebrate the birth of Jesus, we need to understand that Jesus was born to die. He left his throne in heaven and descended to earth to be here with us, to teach us, and to show us a glimpse of our Heavenly Father. However, the main purpose of His mission was to lay down His life as THE ULTIMATE sin atoning sacrifice once, and for all!

Connection to Our Story

Today, let us reflect on the true meaning of Jesus’ birth, which is His death. His sacrifice on Calvary’s cross provides the forgiveness of our sins. No matter what you’ve done, He has already paid the price to be in a relationship with YOU!