Nativity

Nativity

This is by far the best name for the day of joy which we celebrate as the birthday of our Lord. "The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father) full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). This is the nativity.

That was the incomparable day. The people that had once walked in darkness (Isa. 9:2) were by now sitting in darkness (Matt. 4:16), but God sent the great light to illuminate the darkness of our hearts and to lift men from the abyss of eternal darkness. No human eye could pierce those shadows. The sin of Adam and Eve had caused this darkness to roll over the world and the night would have been eternal without the coming of the Light of the world. The prince of darkness reigned; but the Prince of light was born and sent into this world. The prince of death ruled; but the Lord of life had come. The power of mortality thrusts every generation into the graveyard; but the Baby was born who will banish all the powers of the enemy and bring immortality through the Gospel.

God's love seems all the greater when we realize what He left in order to come here. Everything that is of earth can be contrasted with that which is of Heaven. Yet He left it all for our redemption.

This is why the greatest thought of the nativity must ever be: "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus; who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God; but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant; and was made in the likeness of men" (Phil. 2:5-7).

How great a sin to live in darkness after the Light has come. If the Lord Jesus Christ has not saved you from your sin and then become Lord of your life, the darkness of sin is still upon your soul, your eyes are still blinded, and your life is empty of all that God wants you to have.

Today He says to you, "I am the light of the world; he that followeth me shall have the light of life" (John 8:12).

1. Some theologians, pastors, and scholars have said recently that Christianity does not stand on the incarnation. Is that true, does Christianity need the virgin birth?
2. Why is the incarnation important to Christianity?
3. When the messiah was promised and redemptive history began to unfold, would the believers in the Old Testament have been looking for an incarnate Christ?
4. What are some scripture or themes in the Old Testament that might point to a virgin birth?