“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:11
December 22, 2022
The secularization of our society has not yet erased the Christmas story recorded in Luke 2. The birth of the Christ child still holds an important place in our collective memory and interest. The paradoxical nature of the birth of Jesus is stunning. God delights in turning human wisdom on its head. The first title given to Jesus was “Savior.” He is called this only twice in all four of the Gospels (Jn 4:42). The birth of Jesus was God’s gift of a Savior to deliver rebellious, sinful men and women from the clutches of evil. Many answers have been offered to the questions presented by the problem of evil. The fact that we need a Savior tells the whole story about evil. In a letter to the London Times from G. K. Chesterton in reply to a request for essays on the topic, “What’s Wrong with the World?” Chesterton’s reply: “Dear Sirs: I am. Sincerely yours, G. K. Chesterton.” Because Jesus is Savior He can deliver us from the evil of sin (Rom. 8:1). Because Jesus is Savior He can make the evil of suffering bring glory to God (1 Pet. 1:7). Because Jesus is Savior He can deliver us from the evil of death (1 Cor. 15:55-57). The cure for sin is the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The cross and resurrection of Christ completely changes the experience of the evil of suffering for the Christian. Death does not need to haunt those who are in Christ. Where sin has been pardoned, death has no sting. Jesus was born so He could rescue us. That is what Christmas is all about.
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“God of all grace, you have given me a savior, produced in me a faith to live by him, to make him all my desire, all my hope, all my glory.”
(An adaptation from The Valley of Vision)