Something New?
A reading for Wednesday, December 18, 2013: John 3:16-21
As many times as I have heard, read and even preached this passage of scripture today something is new. If people know nothing else about the Christian scriptures, most have at least heard of John 3:16. It has been bumper stickered, t-shirted, and even tattooed all across our culture. It's very familiar. It's very, very familiar.
And yet, today because it's almost Christmas, something is new. The emphasis is on the sending. "For God so loved the world, he SENT... There is so much emphasis on the Christ child, the manger, the stable, and even those who come to worship the child. I wonder if we miss just how much God loves us in order to even instigate such action. The story is so familiar, that perhaps we miss the steadfast love and amazing grace of a God that would do this. God sent the Son.
As we prepare our hearts and minds for Christmas again, all the familiar and even nostalgia of the holiday tends to overshadow the amazing truth of Christmas. God has literally changed the world in this action. No longer does the world stand condemned to death and decay. A new reality has been created, and the world is forever changed.
As many times as I have heard, read and even preached the story of Christmas today (even today) there is something new. Thanks be to God for the birth of the Son, the Christ, the everlasting God.
As many times as I have heard, read and even preached this passage of scripture today something is new. If people know nothing else about the Christian scriptures, most have at least heard of John 3:16. It has been bumper stickered, t-shirted, and even tattooed all across our culture. It's very familiar. It's very, very familiar.
And yet, today because it's almost Christmas, something is new. The emphasis is on the sending. "For God so loved the world, he SENT... There is so much emphasis on the Christ child, the manger, the stable, and even those who come to worship the child. I wonder if we miss just how much God loves us in order to even instigate such action. The story is so familiar, that perhaps we miss the steadfast love and amazing grace of a God that would do this. God sent the Son.
As we prepare our hearts and minds for Christmas again, all the familiar and even nostalgia of the holiday tends to overshadow the amazing truth of Christmas. God has literally changed the world in this action. No longer does the world stand condemned to death and decay. A new reality has been created, and the world is forever changed.
As many times as I have heard, read and even preached the story of Christmas today (even today) there is something new. Thanks be to God for the birth of the Son, the Christ, the everlasting God.
Comments
Post a Comment