Paul Baloche - Christmas Worship DevotionsSample

When Love Crossed Over

"One glorious night when love crossed over and cast aside both crown and throne...”

Christians sing about this all the time. 

We sing about the humble birth; we sing about His sacrifice…but do we truly understand the cost of casting aside both crown and throne? Consider Bill Gates shunning his status, becoming a street person and living under a bridge. Now amplify that a zillion times, and you might begin to understand the immensity of what Jesus laid aside to be born a human being. 

"Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, He gave up his divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When He appeared in human form, He humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross." (Philippians 2: 5-8)

Was this really necessary? If God is All-Powerful, couldn't He have figured out some other way to fix broken people? No, because there is no other way. Our free will has taken us down such a dark alley that most human hearts have become as cold and hard as stone. And even when we comprehend the depth of our selfish nature, we cannot help ourselves. By that time, we're too far gone to do much about it. Our blood-guiltiness is so great that nothing on earth can salvage our messed-up lives. 

Jesus had to cross over because nothing else in heaven or upon the earth could roll the stone away from humanity's tomb. Not all our good works, sacrifices, religious zeal or blood, sweat and tears could deliver us from evil. If Christ had not surrendered Himself to the sorrows of this world, human beings would be without hope.
 
"For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless…In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead."  (1 Corinthians ‪15: 13-14‬‬; 18-19)

When He chose to cross over, it cost Him everything. And when we choose to cross over from darkness to light, it costs us everything. Just as Jesus cast aside crown and throne, we, too, must cast aside the right to be ruler of our own lives. We must choose to no longer act as dictators, but as disciples. No longer demanding our own way, but changing direction to follow the Way of the Cross. 

And so this December, when we join together to sing of His birth, let's not focus on the "gentle Jesus meek and mild" that makes everyone feel so warm and fuzzy. Let's instead focus on the Warrior Prince who makes Thor look like a munchkin. Let's focus on the One who could split atoms with the mere sound of His Voice, and yet walked to the Cross without uttering one word of protest. Now THAT is power, my friends. The only Power that can transfigure you and me. And because He died to make men holy… let us live to make men free.
 

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