Your Daily Devotional for December 27, 2006

 

December 27, 2006

 

 

God Showed His Love

by Dr. Paul Chappell

 

 

“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.”

 

Hebrews 1:1-2

 

 

On Thursday, November 27, 2003, with extraordinary secrecy, President George W. Bush paid a surprise visit to Iraq. His purpose was to thank U.S. troops for “defending the American people from danger.” While there, the President served up a Thanksgiving dinner to 600 stunned soldiers in a mess hall at Baghdad’s airport.

 

Regarding this Thanksgiving visit to the soldiers far from home, Bush said, “It’s got to be lonely for them. I thought it was important to send that message that we care for them.” The unannounced visit not only brought wild cheers from battle-worn soldiers, but also stunned the nation and even surprised the President’s parents, who had been expecting him at the Thanksgiving table at his Crawford, Texas ranch.

 

In a similar manner, God, who had formerly delivered his message through others (as we see in our text today), made a personal visit to the world on that first Christmas. John 1:14 says, “And 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.” When God wanted to show a sinful world that He cared, He came in person.

 

John 1:29 says, “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” The great cost to our redemption was blood atonement. Sin requires a payment and that payment was death. From the first sin, God has required a spotless lamb to be sacrificed to pay for the sin. God gave the lamb skins to Adam and Eve when they sinned in the Garden of Eden. Abel offered a lamb for the atonement of his sins. The ram was offered by Abraham in place of his only son Isaac on Mount Moriah. The Passover lamb was killed, and its blood sprinkled on the door posts in Egypt to protect the Israelites from death. A lamb was offered daily for almost 1400 years under the law and the offerings of the Jews. One final Lamb came that took away the sin of the world when He died on Calvary!

 

When a young woman’s mother got a fax machine at her office, the daughter suggested sending their correspondence by fax instead of using the post office. Although she told her many times that it was a faster and less expensive way to communicate, her mother continued to send her mail by weekly letters. At Christmas, however, her mother showed her full grasp of technology when she faxed her a $100 bill with the note: “Merry Christmas, darling. You’re right—it is cheaper to fax than to mail. Love, Mom.”

 

Instead of merely telling us how much He loved us, Christ showed us His love by dying on Calvary. He made His message of love and redemption personal when He came to earth to die for us. How often do we neglect to show love to those around us? How many times have we passed someone by without stopping to share Christ’s love? Make it a point to show love to those around you today.

 

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