6)
For unto us a
child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his
shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor,
The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
7)
Of the increase
of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David,
and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with
justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform
this.
10) And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold,
I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11) For unto you is born this
day in the city of
|
I |
f there is an
announcement to be made, then, of necessity, there must be someone to make it.
And even though "The Announcement" was made over 2000 years ago,
there are still too many who do not know Who Jesus is.
The Lord Himself, knew that this would be so and
therefore, has provided for us those who will tell the World of the greatness
of the One Who came and was born in a manger in
He Whom we celebrate, this "babe-born-in-a-manger" was to change the course of the World and have enduring significance to all men for all time. In fact, His significance was not apparent in the announcement: "Unto us a child is born". The words, in themselves, held no great importance. However, to us, the statement makes "all the difference in the World"—because we know Who that "child" was and is.
We know, of
course, that Jesus was to "help" as well as "condemn" us by
having humanity. He would help us by proving incontrovertibly, that the man of
the flesh could live in it (the flesh) and yet, not sin. By the same means, He
also condemned us. In that the Spirit of Creation and salvation Himself, was
tempted, yet retained His righteousness, we are unable to do any less and be
so.
Of course, in
order for Jesus to accomplish all that He came to do, He had to have a body of
flesh. Though this was so, that flesh could not have been provided by a common,
human male, or Jesus would have been "tainted" with sin form birth,
destroying all hope of Him redeeming us. Through the kinsman-redeemer
principle, he was permitted to rescue us from our sorry sinful condition and
give back to us "life."
In all of our
"dealings" with God, we must learn not to keep Him where we want Him,
but allow Him to be all the "God" He wants to be. Amongst other
things, "counseling" is what He wants to give us. He does not exist
as a "Santa Claus" type of figure who brings us what we want, then
goes his merry way for another year. His "job" is that of Counselor
and it is this that He wants to be to us and to provide continually. It is our
responsibility, when we go to the man of God, to see him as an
"extension" of the Counselor. He, however, is not from where the
advice is coming. We must acknowledge that it is from God. When we approach the
servant of God, our expectation is to be counseled by Him. Therefore, when we
get what we come looking for, we are responsible for
doing whatever God says.
Any and all
things plaguing us can be committed to God's trust and worked out . Only He knows exactly where to go and what to do.
Through His instruction, He leads and guides us to all truth—and peace.
Peace,
itself, is a valuable asset to possess. As illusive as it remains to most, they
would pay top dollar if it could be bottled. For us, peace is free, yet too few
partake.
In the
pitiful condition in which Man had existed so long before Jesus came he really
didn't know that there was help to be had. "The announcement" of that
birth so long ago was the beginning of man finding his way.
Now that
Jesus has been born, Man need no longer live in sin. However, those to whom
"the" birth remains only "a" birth, will never find peace,
for they will never find salvation.
Those of us
with the Spirit of the One spoken of in "The Announcement" have
a responsibility. The day that we are about to celebrate changed our lives
forever. This year, let us remember that this is more than an occasion to
sit down and eat a meal together or open presents. This year, let us be determined
that people must and will learn the truth from us. What He came to do, He
has accomplished in us—salvation. Don't all other "babies" deserve
a chance for the same?