"It Was The Beginning"

"And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins." Matthew 1:21

We just celebrated Christmas- the birth of Jesus- but we can't stop at the manger, we have to go on to the cross and the empty tomb. Even though we celebrate the birth, death and resurrection as three separate events on the calendar that take place at different times throughout the year, they are a culmination of one purpose. They are three distinct events that work in conjunction with each other to make up the one plan and purpose of God-- to redeem mankind and reconcile his relationship with the Father.

The angel's announcement to Mary let her know that there was a wonderful, eternal purpose of God that was coming through the birth of her son. He announced to her that this was only the beginning of Jesus' mission and reason for coming to earth. "For He shall save His people from their sins." So what we celebrated at Christmas, the birth, was the beginning- the beginning of the fulfillment of God's plan to redeem mankind; not the end- therefore, you can't stop at the manger. At the cross Jesus said, "It is finished". Jesus is the Author and the Finisher. He is the First and the Last. He is the Alpha and the Omega. He is the Beginning and the End. So what happened in a manger two thousand years ago was only the beginning- the starting point, the fulfillment beginning to manifest. It was finished at the cross.

Christ is not divided. We can't divide His life and segment it when we remember the events that surround it. He was the babe born a manger as the Lamb of God to take away sins and the crucified Christ who is the risen Savior. We celebrate it all- not as individual events but as part of the one divine plan of God.

Have a great day. What was begun in the manger was finished at the cross. It was the cross that paid for our salvation, not the cradle.