"Then Simeon
blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the
falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken
against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will
pierce your own soul too.” (Luke 2:34-35)
The birth of Jesus
was recognized by a handful of people though He was the Son of God. It happened
in the poorest place on the planet, an animal's shelter. The sheepherders on the field on that
night were told the good news of the birth of Christ Jesus and given a sign
that a baby would be wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. It was almost
unbelievable for them to believe that a Savior was born and laid in an animal’s
place. But they believed and hurried to see the baby. Sure enough, they found
the one just as the angel told them. Three magi from the east followed the star
and worshiped the baby Jesus when they found Him. There were also the poor
parents, Mary and Joseph who bore the Messiah.
The birth setting and
the visitors tell us the character of the ministry of Jesus Christ conclusively
and convincingly. It is summarized in a nutshell, “Blessed are the poor in
spirit for theirs are the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3) Christ lived on the
earth, having nothing even no place to lay down His head (Luke 9:58). However,
He reigned in life completely and perfectly. He possessed nothing but lacked
nothing. He was pressed and pressured by all sides but never succumbed to despair
and desolation. He was frequently challenged and swarmed by the most problematic
and devious questions by the leaders of the nation but never evaded the
confrontation of answering them. Most of all, though He was the Son of God, He
emptied Himself and gave His life in the place of all both Jews and Gentiles.
Prophet Isaiah
prophesied that Christ would be wounded, stricken, afflicted, pierced, and
crushed not for Himself but for our transgressions and inequities. The hallmark
of Christ’s life on the earth was the crucifixion in the public square of
Golgotha of Calvary. His life ended in smitten, beaten, ashamed, pitied, broken,
cut off to nothing. He became the poor of poor and nothing but nobody. He did
not have to die like that at all but did according to the Scriptures in an
obedience to the Father. It pleased God, says Isaiah. Christ never failed to
act on that basis, pleasing the Father in heaven. It requires the death of
Himself constantly. When He did, God raised Him from the dead with the power of
resurrection and exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is
above every name.
The principle of life
Christ demonstrated is exactly applied to the disciples who follow Him. “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up
their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to
save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the
gospel will save it.” (Mark 8:34-35) It is indeed an amazing invitation of
the Father God for anyone who wants to live a life in the fullness of
excitement and vitality. No one wants to be beaten, smitten, pitied, and ashamed
but it is essential and inevitable like our Lord and Master was put for us to
have eternal life. But whoever wants to save his life will lose it. Do we glory
of the sufferings of Christ in our midst? Do we welcome them today?
No comments:
Post a Comment