This time of year is we celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Christ, (even though we
don't really know just exactly when Jesus was born!) He is called by many names, but especially Emmanuel, which means, "God with us".
God came down to us in the form of a tiny baby, whose birth is cause for celebration. Even people who do not really believe in Jesus celebrate Christmas.
However, many people don't feel like God is truly "with us". They feel like God is very distant from them, and uninvolved in their lives.
But they are wrong: God is with us and He cares about each and every one of us. He knows each one of us personally, and completely. He know everything about His creation!
He determines the number of the stars; He calls them
all by their names. Great is our Lord, and of great power:
His understanding is infinite. (Psalms 147:4-5)
No one but God himself can count the mighty host. Not all the learned astronomers with their mighty telescopes and equipment can count the number of the stars in
just our own galaxy, much less all the others. Yet Jehovah can: He made them and sustains them and He can number them. Vast as these stars are, they are perfectly
obedient to his bidding. He tells the stars where to sit in the vastness of the sky. He tells the sun when to rise and when to set. He calls them all by their names, which means
He has an intimate acquaintance with each separate orb - He knows its name and character. That God names the stars is evident by such passages as these:
Which makes Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades,
and the chambers of the south. (Job 9:9)
Can you bind the sweet influences of Pleiades,
or loose the bands of Orion? (Job 38:31)
Seek Him that makes the seven stars and Orion, and turns the shadow
of death into the morning, and makes the day dark with night: that calls
for the waters of the sea, and pours them out upon the face of the earth:
The LORD is His name. (Amos 5:8)
Now, if the Creator is that intimately involved with the inanimate stars of His creation, how much more do you think He is involved in our lives? All the rest of creation was
spoken into being, but man he fashioned with His own hands. And then, He breathed His own breath into man. That is not the action of some distant, detached god; that is
the action of a very loving and caring God.
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. (Genesis 2:7)`
God formed us with His own hands, breathed life into us, and He cares about every little detail of our lives. The Bible tells us that He has even numbered the hair on our heads!
Mind-blowing, isn't it, that He pays such close attention to us! How many of us ladies have changed hairstyles or even hair colors and our husbands don't even notice until we
call it to their attention? But we do not have to ever call anything to God's attention, He already knows!
Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore,
you are of more value than many sparrows.
(Matthew 10:29-31)
Yes, God created us and He knows us intimately! Nothing is secret from Him. We are fearfully and wonderfully made. What does that mean, exactly? Our bodies are such a
wonderful exhibition of God's incomprehensible skill, power, and goodness, as should inspire us with the deepest feelings of admiration and awe. Medical science cannot begin to duplicate
the intricacies of the human body.
For You created my inmost being, You knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them ever came to be.
(Psalms 139:13-16)
And while we tend to get worried and upset about numerous things, the fact is, God has already determined all the days of our lives. All our worry, all our anxiety, all our cares and concerns can safely be
left in God's hands, because He has already numbered our days. And we can trust Him to meet our needs!
Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor yet for your body, what you shall put on. Is not the life more than food,
and the body than clothing? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much
better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take you thought for clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow;
they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Therefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field,
which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
(Matthew 6:25-30)
We are His the crowning glory of God's creation,
made in His own image, first physically, then spiritually.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10)
When we accept Jesus Christ as as Lord and Savior, we are reborn, made a new creation. The word "workmanship" is indicative of a masterpeice, a highly valued, unique creation.
Our uniqueness is evident in things like our fingerprints: no two human beings have identical fingerprints. Incredible! Or our eyes: while millions of people share eye colors, no two have the same retinal patterns.
Every human being is a unique creation made by God to have a very personal relationship with Him.
All of these things are proofs of God's overwhelming, unconditional love for us.
But by far the most compelling evidence of God's love and His desire to have a close, intimate relationship with us is that He gave His Son Jesus Christ to redeem us
from our sin and reconcile us to Himself. God created man originally to have a relationship with Him, but sin entered and broke that first relationship. That was why it was
necessary for Jesus to come
and redeem us from our sin. He re-creates us when we are born again. He recreates us to once again have a deeply personal relationship with our Creator.
But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the
adoption as sons.
(Galatians 4:4-5)
But God commends his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)
It doesn't make much sense from the world's point of view. God sent His son, to make us His sons and daughters, forgiving our sin and restoring us to Himself, and adopting us into
His very own family. Jesus saved us from our sin, redeemed us, reconciled us, and became our brother. Can you imagine? The only begotten Son of God is our brother! It's
mind-boggling! But unlike our earthly fathers, our Heavenly Father knows every little detail of our lives, He knows our doubts, our fears, our confusion – and loves us in spite of our
faults, failures, and shortcomings!
How much does God love us and desire to be close to us? Just look at how far He was willing to go. If you don't feel close to Him, remember it is you who has moved away, not God.
As you sing the old Christmas carols this year and see the nativity scenes with a tiny baby in a manger, draw near to Him once again. Take time to thank Him and praise Him for
bringing you into the family of God.
And if you have never trusted in Jesus Christ for your salvation, there's no better time in the world than right now, as we celebrate His birth! He came so that YOU might have a
new birth, too. Won't you accept Jesus into your heart and life today? Stepping into a new relationship with Jesus and
God the Father is the best thing you will ever do!
|
