Christmas, Looking the Lord Jesus in the Eye

[HKHaugan]

Christmas, Looking the Lord Jesus in the Eye

 As we approach the celebration of the birth of Jesus, there are several things we need to keep in mind, His origin, His reality, His mission and where we are.

 His origin---Jesus existed before Creation and He was always One with the Father. He is the eternal Son of God who was sent by the Father to be the One who saves mankind from the spiritual disease of self-centeredness called sin. He was the Son through whom the Father created Heaven and Earth and continues as Savior through the power of the Holy Spirit.

 His reality---He is the God of faith who lived by faith and lives by faith in the hearts of those who receive Him. He came visibly to reveal the reality of the invisible nature of God, the invisible nature of humanity and the spiritual dimension influencing human behavior. After His death on the Cross, He was seen as the risen Savior and Lord not only by His disciples but by hundreds of others as well. The reality of His presence can be seen in the thriving ministries around the world.

The impact of His presence has been felt and experienced by millions over the centuries.

 His mission---To bring His presence into the hearts of every human being who would accept Him and His calling to change their world to love God and one another through a personal relationship  with Him.

He reverses the way mankind thinks about life as the pursuit of personal fulfillment through economic and social standing.

Instead, He demonstrates that everything begins and is processed spiritually, He, being the focus in the process and the Holy Spirit to keep us focused.

His willingness to faithfully die on the Cross to obey His Father’s will, was justified by His Resurrection from the dead. He made Resurrection to eternal life a gift for everyone who believes in Him.

He replaces religion with relationship as the way to know God and serve God.

 Now consider our origin, reality and mission---we are images of God; mind, heart and spirit, but born into this world alone and struggling for identity due to sin which causes us to constantly justify ourselves as good keeping a record of the good things we do. We rationalize this record like a shield to defend ourselves from our self-denial, imperfections, guilts and bad choices.

 Our reality is we are a people in spiritual need. We may choose to say we are spiritual so that we are never challenged, but the plea is lost in that well of denial from which we drink defensively. We are angry when we don’t get our way, spend our energy on issues we can’t control and lash out at those we neither know nor can influence. We escape the local for the external and end in frustration sacrificing relationships for causes that have no fulfillment. We may find ourselves being justified when we judge those who claim to be Christians but don’t meet our idea of what they should be like. Instead of judging them do we allow ourselves to evaluate the person of Jesus and accept that He came to change the imperfections in us first? There are no perfect people in this world which is why He came. Believers are not perfect, but they are forgiven. Is there anyone who doesn’t need forgiveness and love as seen in Jesus?

 Underneath all this is the spiritual aloneness we try to avoid but the harder we try the more we find the lonely self-justification, the dead end, the ‘cul de sac’ of isolation. How many friends, trusted confidants and soul partners do we have? How much of ourselves can we share with others we trust; our hopes, our fears, our dreams, hurts and pains? Do we have a drive to see the needs of others around us who need comfort in their isolation and what do we offer them? Do we have a personal mission that is relational and sensitive to the people we associate with every day?

 These are questions and needs that an open and honest relationship with Jesus the Christ answers. These are quests we bring to the celebration of the birth of Jesus, why we worship Him and give our lives to Him. He changes us from within, our mind, our heart and our spirit. He is always available and ready to be as personal as we are willing to let Him. The only obstacles are our dishonesty, guilt, anger with the world and ourselves or our refusal to look the Lord Jesus in the eye, which is what He really wants. “Come unto me all who travail and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me,; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls (Mt.11:28-29).”

 

 [HH1]