Phyllis Beveridge Nissila
I am still thinking about my recent poem “Yet He Said Yes” wherein, for one thing, I wanted to express how Jesus Christ, through Whom all things were made, even crafted for Himself a body in which He lived out the primordial redemption plan “in the fullness of time” by becoming a human.
And in His own flesh He was the sacrifice justice demands for the sins of every other human which He accomplished by His suffering and death on the cross.
You might say Jesus became a literal flesh and blood metaphor for God Who loves us so much He spares those who put their faith in Him the eternal penalty (and plenty of the temporal consequences as well) for our wrong-doings–our lies, betrayals, and cruelties–by the sacrifice of His own Son–Who agreed to it.
Because if you give a human free will there are bound to be sins involved that require justice.
However, God’s kind of justice is not quid pro quo, “something for something,” as the legal maxim goes, but through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross hewn of a tree (also “made through Him”) the price was paid in full.
Jesus, Himself, was the Spotless Sacrificial Lamb.
To put it another way, on Jesus’ unique mission, He willingly and literally entered the material world (the same way we did), the world He made and in which He became that perfect sacrifice required to settle the score…
Of course a poem only whets the appetite (at least the poet hopes it does) for further thought. Poetry is the appetizer genre of the writing world, you might say.
But–“Christmas (2.0)”?
Just like God the Father through God the Son, Jesus, set all that exists in motion when first He formed the material world as we know it, He set our salvation in motion as well, and this is the real meaning of what Christians call Christmas.
You know, the story about that young couple who had to travel to Bethlehem to register for the census in the land of their citizenship and found only a manger for shelter in the crowded city. And there, in fulfillment of numerous prophecies, Jesus, the Son of God, was born–for the express purpose of His sacrifice thirty-three years later…
If the reader has yet to receive the original Christmas gift, your “personal Christmas (2.0),” which is the gift of salvation by God’s grace (“unmerited favor”) through faith in Jesus Christ Who gave Himself not under but on (a very different kind of) a tree, it is still available. Here are the instructions.
Receive at will.
~~~
I wrote a song years ago that comes to mind just now. Something Jesus would say to all of us. Lyrics go like this:
Why are you afraid?
I have come to still the wind.
Why are you afraid?
I have come to calm the sea.”
And He said,
“My peace, I give to you.
Not a feeling the world
can offer too.
So take it, it’s yours,
why do you hesitate?
My peace can surround you,
there’s no need to wait,
no need to wait.”
And if you follow Him,
no matter what the cost of it is,
stronger will He be in you
than anything the world can give.
Don’t be discouraged,
I have come to give you hope.
Put your faith in Who I am,
and you’ll never be alone.”
And He said,
“My joy, I give to you.
Not a feeling the world
can offer too.
So take it, it’s yours
why do you hesitate?
My joy can surround you,
there’s no need to wait,
no need to wait…”
And may the peace and joy of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you today and always.
Merry Christmas.
~~~~~
Image of Nativity scene from Wikimedia Commons
Image of cross from clipart
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Merry Christmas (2.0)
Phyllis Beveridge Nissila
And in His own flesh He was the sacrifice justice demands for the sins of every other human which He accomplished by His suffering and death on the cross.
You might say Jesus became a literal flesh and blood metaphor for God Who loves us so much He spares those who put their faith in Him the eternal penalty (and plenty of the temporal consequences as well) for our wrong-doings–our lies, betrayals, and cruelties–by the sacrifice of His own Son–Who agreed to it.
Because if you give a human free will there are bound to be sins involved that require justice.
However, God’s kind of justice is not quid pro quo, “something for something,” as the legal maxim goes, but through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross hewn of a tree (also “made through Him”) the price was paid in full.
Jesus, Himself, was the Spotless Sacrificial Lamb.
To put it another way, on Jesus’ unique mission, He willingly and literally entered the material world (the same way we did), the world He made and in which He became that perfect sacrifice required to settle the score…
Of course a poem only whets the appetite (at least the poet hopes it does) for further thought. Poetry is the appetizer genre of the writing world, you might say.
But–“Christmas (2.0)”?
Just like God the Father through God the Son, Jesus, set all that exists in motion when first He formed the material world as we know it, He set our salvation in motion as well, and this is the real meaning of what Christians call Christmas.
You know, the story about that young couple who had to travel to Bethlehem to register for the census in the land of their citizenship and found only a manger for shelter in the crowded city. And there, in fulfillment of numerous prophecies, Jesus, the Son of God, was born–for the express purpose of His sacrifice thirty-three years later…
If the reader has yet to receive the original Christmas gift, your “personal Christmas (2.0),” which is the gift of salvation by God’s grace (“unmerited favor”) through faith in Jesus Christ Who gave Himself not under but on (a very different kind of) a tree, it is still available. Here are the instructions.
Receive at will.
~~~
I wrote a song years ago that comes to mind just now. Something Jesus would say to all of us. Lyrics go like this:
And may the peace and joy of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you today and always.
Merry Christmas.
~~~~~
Image of Nativity scene from Wikimedia Commons
Image of cross from clipart
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