And an angel of the Lord appeared to them,
and the glory of the Lord shone around them,
and they were filled with great fear.
And the angel said to them,
“Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy..."
Luke 2:9, 10
"Go, sit in your room and wait until your father gets home." Those have to be the most fear-inspiring words of my childhood!
You see, the guilt of wrongdoing brings fear, the fear of punishment, because wrongdoing has consequences. Thankfully, my parents also taught me that, when there is repentance, there can also be forgiveness and restoration.
I love the story of Christmas, because it is a BIG story, one that transcends my day-to-day existence ~ the struggles, the disappointments, the pain ~ and gives me reason and confidence to hope that there is something more!
But first, a disclaimer: these thoughts that I am about to share are not all my original thoughts. I read Our Daily Bread together with my wife the other morning, something we strive to do on a regular basis, and the devotional centred around these thoughts, on which I have elaborated.
Throughout the Bible, we read various accounts of people who have encountered God in one way or another. In fact, the Bible begins with the creation account, and once God created man, He placed him in a beautiful garden, filled with everything the man could need (and likely, some things he might just want!) When we read between the lines in Genesis chapter 3, we discover that it was a regular habit of God and mankind (the man and the woman) to walk together in the cool of the garden.
Stop for just a minute and contemplate that.
God and mankind, just hangin' out, walking together, enjoying one another's company, talking about things, maybe laughing over some of the ridiculous antics of the animals ... and absolutely no fear on the part of the man and woman at being completely vulnerable before an all-powerful, all-knowing and perfectly holy God.
Sadly that would change before too long. The story goes on to describe how mankind chose to distrust God (who had done everything to demonstrate His trustworthiness and love), believe the lies of the serpent (who had done nothing to demonstrate his trustworthiness) and rebel against their Creator and King. And once they ate of the fruit, "their eyes were opened" and they hid themselves. Why? Because their guilt brought about fear of judgement from the Righteous Judge. And, being holy, God had to judge their sin and rebellion, and declare the aforementioned consequences for their wrongdoing.
What He didn't have to do, but did, was promise that the curse would not be for always, but that God would provide a Saviour, who would rescue His people from the curse of their rebellion. When there was repentance, there could be forgiveness and restoration through the Saviour.
As I mentioned previously, in the Bible we read of people coming into the presence of this holy God, and the response of each individual, when their own sinful self is exposed by His perfection, is to be fearful. At Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:16), when the presence and glory of God rested upon the mountain, "all the people of the camp trembled." In Isaiah 6, when the obedient prophet Isaiah is confronted with the holiness of God, he says, "Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips ... For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts."
Fast forward to the New Testament. An angel appeared to Zacharias in the temple, and Luke 1:12 records that "fear gripped him. But the angel said, "Do not be afraid ..." An angel appeared to Mary, the soon-to-be mother of the promised Messiah, and one of the first things he says is, "Do not be afraid!" (Luke 1:30). In chapter 2, when the angel appeared to announce the birth of the Messiah to the shepherds, it says in verse 9 that "they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord." "
Again and again, the refrain "Do not be afraid!" rings out! Why? Because Jesus has come! Even though the presence of God naturally brings about fear, the message of Jesus' birth is that the Saviour has come! The name Jesus means "Jehovah saves!" We couldn't save ourselves; God Jehovah had to save us! And He did, in the person of Jesus. Jesus did not come to judge sinners, but "to seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:10). John 3:17 says, "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him." There is no more need of fear, because Jesus came to tell of God's love for sinful mankind. 1 John 4:18 says "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment ..." The holy God still had to exact the consequences, the punishment, for sin. But He chose to have His loved Son pay the penalty for our sin, in our place. So the price has been paid! No more cause for fear! If we will repent of our rebellion and sin, there is forgiveness and restoration offered through Jesus the Messiah!
Jesus came to teach us that we no longer need to fear God's holiness. If we accept God's offer of forgiveness through the blood of Jesus Christ, we are restored to the kind of relationship mankind once enjoyed with God; one marked by love and joy, one that can be safe in its vulnerability before an all-powerful, all-knowing, perfectly holy God, because the punishment has already been served by God's Son.
In Christ, God sees us with perfect love, and perfect love casts out fear. This Christmas, accept the Greatest Gift ever given, the gift of freedom from guilt and judgement, the gift of forgiveness and restoration that God offers you through His beloved Son, Jesus.
Fast forward to the New Testament. An angel appeared to Zacharias in the temple, and Luke 1:12 records that "fear gripped him. But the angel said, "Do not be afraid ..." An angel appeared to Mary, the soon-to-be mother of the promised Messiah, and one of the first things he says is, "Do not be afraid!" (Luke 1:30). In chapter 2, when the angel appeared to announce the birth of the Messiah to the shepherds, it says in verse 9 that "they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord." "
Again and again, the refrain "Do not be afraid!" rings out! Why? Because Jesus has come! Even though the presence of God naturally brings about fear, the message of Jesus' birth is that the Saviour has come! The name Jesus means "Jehovah saves!" We couldn't save ourselves; God Jehovah had to save us! And He did, in the person of Jesus. Jesus did not come to judge sinners, but "to seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:10). John 3:17 says, "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him." There is no more need of fear, because Jesus came to tell of God's love for sinful mankind. 1 John 4:18 says "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment ..." The holy God still had to exact the consequences, the punishment, for sin. But He chose to have His loved Son pay the penalty for our sin, in our place. So the price has been paid! No more cause for fear! If we will repent of our rebellion and sin, there is forgiveness and restoration offered through Jesus the Messiah!
Jesus came to teach us that we no longer need to fear God's holiness. If we accept God's offer of forgiveness through the blood of Jesus Christ, we are restored to the kind of relationship mankind once enjoyed with God; one marked by love and joy, one that can be safe in its vulnerability before an all-powerful, all-knowing, perfectly holy God, because the punishment has already been served by God's Son.
In Christ, God sees us with perfect love, and perfect love casts out fear. This Christmas, accept the Greatest Gift ever given, the gift of freedom from guilt and judgement, the gift of forgiveness and restoration that God offers you through His beloved Son, Jesus.
