Christmas = God Has Determined to Do Good to Us

Zechariah 7-8; Psalm 144; Proverbs 30:29-31

Merry Christmas, friends! Seriously, Merry Christmas!

Here’s the good news. Well, first of all, the bad news…but it will turn good.

We sinned against God. Arrogantly. Flamboyantly. And God had determined to bring disaster on us. When God says disaster, He means it. Think Sodom and Gomorrah—gone. Think the Flood—worldwide death. God knows disaster, and His plans for us were just that… disaster. Not because God loves to create disasters, but because we sinned against God and deserved every ounce of His anger.

Ok, now the good news of Christmas, as expressed in the Old Testament:

This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Just as I had determined to bring disaster upon you and showed no pity when your fathers angered me," says the LORD Almighty, "so now I have determined to do good again to Jerusalem and Judah. Do not be afraid. – Zechariah 8:14-15

Did you hear that? The good news?

God is DETERMINED to do good to His people. Determined! It’s not that we are less sinful than before, but God has set His mind to give us the kind of life He calls good. And He has done this—as we remember every year on December 25th (and more frequently, I hope)—through Jesus.

Through Jesus, God bridged the gap between deity and humanity. Through Jesus, God established a righteous humanity. Through Jesus, God was able to pour out His anger and justice completely, all without destroying every single person on the planet. How? By Jesus’ willingness to obey His Father and walk to Golgotha with a cross on His back, even though He didn’t deserve it. And although Jesus died that day on the cross, God gave us life—good life—through Jesus’ resurrection from on the third day. Jesus lives, and He always lives to offer us life.

If you know the good news, I hope you feel refreshed, encouraged, alive! If you’ve never thought of this as good news before, pause for a moment and take the time to give this news your full attention. Why? Because it’s only good news for you, ultimately, if you believe it. Not that it’s any less true, regardless of whether you believe it or not. The truth is certain. But the news will turn out to be bad news for you if you don’t believe it. If you go through life convinced that you don’t need Jesus, rejecting His offer of His kind of good life, the offer one day won’t be there for you. Remember, the bad news? But the bad news is merely a warning today. And until we die or Jesus comes again, the good news is available and can be experienced starting now.

What a good God we serve! Join those of us who serve Him! He’ll be good to you, too.

Anyone else? Your thoughts on God’s goodness?