I’ve enjoyed the recent series of sermons from my pastor, Steve Houser, during this Advent season. Rather than the typical birth narratives, he’s been speaking out of the first chapter of the gospel written by John. The one that starts out, “In the beginning was the word…”
Incredible stuff, but the one verse out of that chapter sticks out to me this season is this — “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
The law — that which we’re trying so hard to accomplish with our actions, whether we believe in God or not. You know — like when we’re giving money to the poor, feeding the homeless on Thanksgiving, voting Democrat….
That’s all commendable, I’m sure, but it doesn’t help. We need grace. Grace. Unmerited favor from God. Being forgiven when we don’t deserve it. When we’re right in the middle of our rejection of God. And we need truth. We need to face the reality of the world — that we all fall short and need him to step in for us.
“And the word became flesh.” The one who came to give us grace and God’s truth. We celebrate that on Christmas Day.
Merry Christmas…
