Devotions

God And Sinners Reconciled

If Christmas is about God the divine coming into the world through Jesus Christ the Son of God, there’s a basic question that floats through the air. The question is, “With what purpose does he come to our midst?” What is he here to do? Does he come in peace or does he bring a sword?

Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled!

There’s an old saying, I can’t remember exactly how it goes. But it’s something like, “When the pastor comes to the dinner party, the dinner table falls silent”. I really don’t think it’s true anymore, because these days no one cares what the pastor thinks of them. That’s fine, I’m not salty about that or anything. But the principle is, when someone truly great comes by, your awe can quickly turn into fear. “Will I make a fool of myself if I open my mouth? What will they think of me? If only they knew my secrets, I would be sunk!”

Would you want God to be around? Some of you might. Some of you will have angry questions for him, probably. Some of you want desperately to see his face, your own damnation be damned. But I think most of us would fear. For me, I can’t even handle ordinary human beings knowing my deepest shames, why would I want the God of the heavens in my business?

The profound gift of Christmas is that he came not to judge, but to heal. “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3.17). The time of judgment will come, that’s for his return. But at Christmas, we remember that God made the first move for reconciliation. Do you know how important the first move is? At the risk of being redundant, without the first move, peace will never happen. When two parties are at war, the party that makes the first move to sue for peace will risk the biggest loss. They make themselves vulnerable by laying down their arms because the enemy can keep fighting.

At Christmas, we remember that Jesus was born into the world, not to wield a sword but to sue for peace. He came into enemy territory, made himself vulnerable, put himself in the hands of the enemy, and ultimately experienced the biggest possible loss. The part I can’t fully wrap my head around is that God had all the cards. He is God! He is righteous, the judge, and also the aggrieved party to begin with. We could have had judgment right away. He could have dealt with us swiftly and justly. We’d be lost, hopeless, doomed. Instead, Christmas happened.