THE PROMISE OF CHRISTMAS: In the Beginning
Jiminy Cricket! It’s that time of year again!
The time of year when most of us bundle up in coats, sweaters, scarves, and mittens to ward off the frigid weather brought on by Ole’ Man Winter and Jack Frost. Drinks seasoned with pumpkin spice, peppermint mocha, nutmeg, and eggnog.
And every home is covered in lights, decorations, and the smell of pine and cinnamon filtering throughout the house.
We receive innumerable party invitations, attend complicated family gatherings, and rack our brain and pocketbook to find that ever-elusive perfect gift.
Although we all celebrate Christmas somewhat differently, we all probably could agree that The Most Wonderful Time of the Year often feels like the most chaotic time of the year!
But through the chaos, what a blessing it can be to take a moment and meditate on the true Promise of Christmas.
Join me as I walk through the little town of Bethlehem, sit out in the fields where shepherds watched their flocks by night, and ride along with the wise men in search of the Promise of Christmas.
THE BEGINNING OF THE PROMISE OF CHRISTMAS BEGAN IN GENESIS
To appreciate the true Promise of Christmas, we have to go back to the beginning—before A Charlie Brown Christmas, before Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, before the starry night when angels announced the virgin birth and shepherds worshipped the baby lying in a manger.
The Promise of Christmas began in Genesis 3 when the only two human beings in the world decided to break God’s one commandment by eating from the one tree in the Garden of Eden that was prohibited.
Satan, who the Bible describes as the father of lies, slithered up next to Eve and enticingly whispered, “Did God tell you not to eat and enjoy all the trees in the garden?”
“God gave us all trees in the garden to enjoy their fruits, except for this one,” she answered as she pointed to the tree in the middle of the garden. “He said we would die if we ate of its fruit.”
Satan slithered a little closer, “You won’t really die,” he sneered (putting air quotes around the word die). “God knows that when you eat of this tree, your eyes will open, and you will be like Him.”
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Eve looked up at the tree, enticed by the low hanging fruit just inches away from her reach. Adam, standing nearby, remained silent as she plucked the ripe fruit from its branch.
As she sank her teeth into the sweet flesh of the forbidden fruit, the bitter juices of rebellion tantalized her tongue. And then Adam reached out to take his part in the lustful act of disobedience.
Satan’s trap had sprung. The fruit that had moments earlier been so desirable and appealing began to turn in the stomachs of Adam and Eve.
The pleasurable feeling they had first experienced was replaced by guilt and shame. Man had died, spiritually separated from a holy God who could not stay in the presence of sin.
THE PROMISE OF CHRISTMAS WAS A REDEEMER
There were consequences to their disobedience; Adam and Eve were banned from the Garden of Eden. In work, Adam would labor, and in childbearing, Eve would labor. But as God spoke to the serpent, He foretold of the coming Redeemer that would one day crush the head of Satan.
“Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field…I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” -Genesis 3:15
God did not leave them naked and abandoned. With the skin of a lamb, He provided them with clothing. And with the promise of a Savior, He provided them with redemption.
Genesis 3:15 is the first place in the Bible where we see the Promise of Christmas.
