Friends: Let’s build our faith this holiday season, and remember God’s great, constructive gift to us: Jesus Christ.  Merry Christmas! Bob

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Spirituality Column #945

December 24, 2024

Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary

Eve of Construction

By Bob Walters

“And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” Paul, in 2 Corinthians 4:3-4

“Our gospel” begins with the birth of Jesus, celebrated on Christmas Day. In a world previously doomed to destruction, Jesus came to construct a world where fear would be overcome by hope, and grace would tear down condemnation.

Counter to a 1960s political protest song that came to mind, Barry McGuire’s “Eve of Destruction,” Christmas Eve is a time to know Christ came to build our future into an eternity with God.  Anticipating the arrival of Jesus is the Eve of Construction.

Humanity was a fearful mess when Jesus showed up with a message only a rare few were truly ready to hear. Yes, in His righteousness God had condemned mankind, but in His great faithfulness and eternal love sent the loving face of Jesus into the world and into humanity. Our destruction isn’t God’s greatest desire; He craves our salvation. Israel’s scriptural prophets predicted all this – a baby of a virgin birth, a life of humility, Jesus’s suffering, service, teaching, sacrifice, horrible death, and renewed life.

Yet the deliverance of the savior – the whole world’s savior – had fallen off the prophetic script of the nation of Israel.  Jewish leaders had remade “the Law” into an unrecognizable shadow of works shaded by their earthly pride, greed, and fears.

The salvation of the world will come through the nation of Israel? And the restoration of man’s image in relationship with God built on the shoulders of Jesus?

No, said Israel. It wanted a savior who would kill the Romans, subdue not only Israel’s enemies but all the earth, and put the Jewish leaders in ascendant leadership over all. By Christ’s power, all would bow to the Pharisees. That was never God’s plan.

The angel Gabriel told Mary and Joseph that her son’s seed was of the Holy Spirit. Angels told the shepherds to “fear not,” for “good tidings and great joy” were theirs in the birth of Christ the Lord, their Savior, in nearby Bethlehem.  The angels declared “peace on earth,” and the shepherds hurried to Jesus and “spread the word.”

Jesus, from a helpless human baby, grew up to declare, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life.” He came for all mankind because of God’s love for the world. The Gospel was unveiled in that manger for all to see … if they could, if they would.

Jewish leaders refused the story, and saw Jesus as a threat, not a savior. They feared his ministry rather than embraced it.  They wanted destruction of Jesus’s message, which even still today is veiled “to those who are perishing” and the small “g” “god of this world.” That “god” would be Satan, who knows exactly Jesus’s mission and “keeps them [unbelievers] from seeing the glory of Christ.” Christmas is no time to hide.

Christmas is a time of unveiling: of opening presents, sharing hearts, and declaring faith. It is the construction of our heavenly destiny, not our earthly destruction.

The shepherds were told to “fear not” for the angels’ message was good news. We may fear physical pain, mental anguish, public humiliation, and death, but in Jesus, we no longer need to fear the loss of God. In faith, destruction is no longer on the menu.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) vividly remembers the protests and turmoil of the 1960s, but also remembers songs like “Snoopy’s Christmas” by the Royal Guardsmen.