The Reason for the SeasonSample

Why Jesus Came — Part 1

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1)

We are celebrating Christmas now, but every day is a day when we should remind ourselves why it is that Jesus left the glory that he had with the Father to come to earth to live a life serving others and then to die a cruel death on the cross. The gospel of John helps to remind us by skipping the manger scene and going all the way back to the beginning—even before the Creation—saying, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (emphasis added).

The fact is that God is invisible, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. And no one had ever seen him. God the Father, therefore, sent us his Son—this Word, this expression of his heart and mind—so that he could reveal to us his very nature and character; so that we could see them displayed in flesh and blood. The Bible says that Jesus is the very image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15). So if we really want to know what God is like, we have to look at and meditate on and love the person of Jesus Christ, who said, “Anyone who has seen me, has seen the Father” (John 14:9).

One thing we learn right away when we look at the life of Jesus is that the God we’re worshiping today is in love with us! We know that because Jesus loved everyone with whom he came in contact. And when people turned against him, when they hardened their hearts and refused to listen to him, he didn’t call down fire and brimstone on them. Instead, Jesus revealed the love of the Father as he wept over the very people who rejected him, crying, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem! … How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing” (Luke 13:34).

How different this is from the picture some have of God as a stern judge waiting to throw the book at us for any infraction. The truth is that Jesus came to show us God’s amazing sacrificial love, by dying on the cross for our sins so that we could be forgiven when we repent and place our trust in him.

From the life of Jesus, we also learn that God meets us where we are. When he walked on this earth, Jesus didn’t say to anyone, “Before I talk to you, you have to get your act together. I can’t talk to you with the way you’re living.” No, that’s not the God we see revealed through our Lord and Savior, who spoke to the woman caught in adultery. Jesus asked her, “Where are your accusers? Has no one condemned you? Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.” (John 8:10-11NKJV).

Wherever you are today, you will not hear Jesus say, “Come up to where I am so that you can talk to me.” No, he wants to show you the heart of God. And so he appeals to you and says, “I’m reaching down to where you are because I love you so much that I want to help you. I want to change your life. I want to bless you. I want to fulfill the plan I have for you. I want to give you peace and joy.”

To be continued…