Christmas

It is only the 3rd of December, but it is amazing how quickly Christmas will come round. After putting up the church Christmas decorations, and opening my advent calendar, I've started to reflect again about Christmas.
The question that comes up is this, Why did Jesus come into the world?
It's kind of like you or I moving to the poorest part of the world, only on a much larger scale. Jesus came down from heaven, He came from perfection, into a fallen world. He came as Saviour, but people did not necessarily know that He would die and rise again. He was born a baby, one of many babies born that year.

The point is that Jesus was born into the world. We have the beauty of hinesight. Being able to articulate the reasons for his coming. But, what about the shepherds, and the wise men, who were obedient to Gods voice, as they journeyed to meet a baby king. Logically, Jesus couldn't be a king, Herod was, and Jesus was not being born of royal ascent, and certainly not in a royal palace.

The reality that we celebrate the coming of Jesus at Christmas and John 3:16 gives us a clear answer to why. God chose to send His son to a fallen world, because He loves. Jesus came into this world, not to be served, but to serve, and showed the love of God to others.

What is our response this Christmas time, to love as Christ loves us. To serve and not be served? What a joy Christmas is, but what a challenge it is to us as Christians. How will the world see the church and us as individuals this Christmas?