I was reading my Advent devotional on the Bible App today and ran across this verse. As many times as I have likely read over it, I don't think I have ever really paid attention to the magnitude of its meaning.
For many of us, we understand the incredible destruction that Adam and Eve's choice to disregard God's instruction brought upon this earth. We reap the repercussions daily. We are faced in every moment with choices that would allow even more sin and death to enter our own lives, not to mention what we see evident in the world around us. Pain, destruction, heartache, chaos, loss, and just even the sometimes unshakable anxiety of everyday life that has been present in humanity since that day. And yet we are given, in contrast, the beautiful and unchanging story of Christ and his redemption. Most of us know these two contrasting events well.
What changed for me in the revelation of this verse was seeing these events, not in contrast, but in comparison to, one another. If indeed the havoc reeked by that one faithful decision has impacted generations upon generations, separated people from the love of God, and caused unimaginable heartache and pain throughout the history of mankind, in comparison, what more does the redemptive story of Jesus bring?
If Satan is able to manifest such a level of destruction then what more power, joy, love, peace, strength, healing, and good things does the birth of Jesus mean for the world - and for us? What more is brought through the Son of God than what was brought through the fall of man? What more and complete access do we, being redeemed by Christ through the belief, surrender, and lordship of Christ in our own lives are given to the Kingdom of God if Satan has such access to the Kingdom of Darkness?
We, by the words and the birth and the life of Jesus Christ, are given the opportunity to choose life for the world. (Mathew 5:14-16) We are given the opportunity by faith to do more than Jesus himself did. (John 14:2) Let us not squander these days. Let us live in the true hope and salvation that the birth of Jesus brought. (2 Corinthians 3:18) Let us not be given over to the things of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our mind through communion with God's word and the counsel of God's Holy Spirit as we meditate on all that this season reminds us of. (Romans 12:2)
Let it not be the passive story of a baby in a manger, but the beginning of the salvation of the world - the unhindered access to the Kingdom of God - the power to bring light into dark places - the hope that never fails and always endures. If Satan brought such destruction through mere man, then how much more will redemption come through the birth of Christ?
That is the story of Christmas.
Blessings upon blessings to you and yours,
Susanne & Elyssa