By Dan Williams
Harding University
This is the time of year when people are focused on the birth of Christ, and it is easy to understand why. It is an appealing story, what with the angelic announcements, the baby in a manger, shepherds leaving their flocks in the field to hurry to Bethlehem to ooh and aah over Mary’s little lamb, and wise men arriving bearing gifts. I am always thankful that people have this annual opportunity to consider the Incarnation, for in the birth of Christ we truly see heaven touching earth. I would, however, add three caveats.
First, the ultimate focus of the gospel story is on the grown Jesus, not the infant. Everyone loves a baby, cute and cuddly — not everyone is willing to accept Jesus as Lord.
Second, the Gospels emphasize the death of Christ, not his birth. The story ends not in the cradle, but on a cross. The New Testament is quite clear; Jesus came to this earth in order to die a sacrificial death. As John the Baptist said, he was “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:39)
Third, the story of Jesus does not begin with his birth. Far from it. The Bible is quite clear: Jesus existed with God the Father throughout all eternity. Revelation 13:9 speaks of “the book of life belonging to the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.”
That verse tells me God foresaw the necessity of the Cross before He ever spoke our planet into existence; the Lord understood the price He would have to pay to redeem humanity if He went on to mold that first man out of mud. Did the Creator hesitate before He breathed into Adam the breath of life? Did God think of His own Son and the suffering He would one day have to endure as a result of this action?
It makes me wonder why the Lord even bothered to create humans, since He clearly foresaw how troublesome they would be. Just between us, if I were God I would have halted the process of creation once I got to the dolphins. After all, they are intelligent, innocent, pla far as I know, no dolphin has ever robbed a bank, lied to his neighbor, or coveted another dolphin’s possessions. A world ruled by dolphins would be a pure, peaceful and unpolluted planet. A world ruled by people, on the other hand? Not so much.
So why did God go on to make Adam and Eve, when He realized all along that one day in order to save these weak and wicked creatures, His Only Son would have to pay a terrible price? The fact that the Lamb was slain “from the creation of the world,” that God could see the Cross from Eden, can only lead us to one conclusion: Our Lord loves us more than we know – more than we can possibly imagine!