It's Christmas...And The World Is Not At Peace

I remember some saying that "if Obama were to be elected President of the United States the world could be at peace. Men of all races and color would join hand in hand toward a more noble future." Just to prove the point that this man of letters could bring peace, he was given the Nobel Peace Prize based not on what he actually accomplished but what the world expected him to accomplish-HE DIDN'T! But this is not a blog to slam the many failures of our current President. He has done so many things wrong that even the so-called LEFT can scarcely defend him. Remember though, that he is a man, only a man with limited ability to change the world around us. Men with a skewed vision can shape some of the nation's circumstances but everything is really in flux anyway. According to the List Of Ongoing Conflicts, 66 countries are presently at war and a 669 factions are warring with each other ( http://www.warsintheworld.com/?page=static1258254223 )!!! The world scans the political horizon looking for some kind of non-religious or religious Messiah to bind us together in harmony and bring peace to a terribly fractured world. 

So for now, this minute, what do we need to focus on? What will bring change to potential catastrophes, hopelessness, loneliness, hate, division, anger, and apathy. So many today are feeling these emotions and yes especially apathy because they have lost hope.

Question: Why should we even consider the celebration of the Christians idea of Christmas? 

Over 2000 years ago a baby came into the world that Christian Bible calls Emmanuel (God with us) and still all those terrible things mentioned above are still plaguing mankind. Time has changed only the players not the events nor the activities. There are so many world religions who claim to have the truth that hate for all things religious has become in vogue. However, even secularism has no real answers...never has and never will. The world-at-large seems about to combust into a possible world war again-maybe even a nuclear war! This world and its people hang upon a slippery precipice that looks down into a fiery, cauldron of possible utter destruction. If that isn't enough, so-called global warming will bring desolation and famine. If that doesn't do it then the Caldera in Yellowstone National Park that measures 34 by 45 miles contains a super volcano whose fury could decimate and change the world's economy and the ability to even grow food to sustain us. According to scientists millions world-wide will die in the first year. So, what changed when a baby called Jesus came into the world? The question remains, in light of all this terrible danger, why should we even consider celebrating the birth of the so called God/Man, Jesus, the Christ? What does this Emmanuel do that is so radically different from what other religions claim?

Dr. R.C. Sproul says, "What we celebrate at Christmas is not so much the birth of a baby, as important as that is, but what’s so significant about the birth of that particular baby is that in this birth we have the incarnation of God Himself. An incarnation means a coming in the flesh. We know how John begins His gospel, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” So in that very complicated introductory statement, he distinguishes between the Word and God, and then in the next breath identifies the two, “The Word was with God, and the Word was God.” And then at the end of the prologue, he says, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” Now in this “infleshment,” if you will, of Christ appearing on this planet, it’s not that God suddenly changes through a metamorphosis into a man, so that the divine nature sort of passes out of existence or comes into a new form of fleshiness. No, the incarnation is not so much a subtraction as it is an addition, where the eternal second person of the Trinity takes upon Himself a human nature and joins His divine nature to that human nature for the purpose of redemption."

Without putting down other religions, I will simply state a word of great importance: HOPE! You see, unlike other religions where man strives to obtain godliness, God, the Father, reached down and gave a child of His own making. Born to die for all mankind to ultimately redeem us from a world gone mad. You see, this child had to be fully God and fully man or his death would be meaningless. Any man can die for another but it takes a God who understands our nature, who is tempted as we, and yet lives a sinless life to save a whole world from the sins we suffer from. It takes a God who takes the sting out of death to deliver us to Himself whole and righteous in His eyes because He paid the price. A blood-bought sacrifice one time for all man-kind if we would choose to believe. Jesus left no option as to how we were to be saved from a sinful world-through the Son alone. No other faith will save you, but He made it so simple to begin that process of change in our lives. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved-not to live as you please! Let God's word transform your thinking into His way of thinking. We will never attain perfection as humans in this world, try as might wish to think so. But in God's eyes we are perfect in Him because of Him and what He did for us. God reached down to men and healed our condition if we would simply believe on Jesus the Christ. Now that is quite a gift and worthy of celebration!

So if I do this will all my troubles be over? Will I no longer mess up my life or others? Will the world suddenly heal its brokenness and division? Will death no longer be something I have suffer? In a word, NO! You see, like it or not sin is real. It came into the world which is why we see mankind hate other mankind for various reasons. There will still be killing, stupidity, hate, anger, mistakes (honest and deliberate), all these things, but the difference will be in you. You will change and you will desire a better world, a better way of thinking and living, a better way of seeing things from God's perspective. Most importantly you will learn to love! Really love, even those who hate you because God's love will reside within. Will you be perfect...NOPE! Only in God's eyes because you are a work of The Potter's Hand under construction every day. His shaping and molding is sometimes painful, but the pain brings reward...eternal life with a God who gave a great gift to mankind to draw us to Him. 

Yes, It's almost Christmas Day and the world is not at peace, but my friend, you can be if you will only trust in the Name above all names, Jesus the Christ.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and the peace of God within,
Ted