Day 38: From the Manger to the Cross
Isaiah 9: 6-7
“For a Child is Born to us, a Son is given to us. The Government will rest on His shoulders. And He will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His Government and its Peace will Never End. He will Rule with Fairness and Justice from the Throne of His Ancestor David for all Eternity. The Passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!”
We are getting closer to Palm Sunday which marks the beginning of what is called Passion Week that leads us to Easter. In the modern age, the time between our Christmas and Easter celebrations is about three and a half months. Sadly, the significance of the Lenten season and Easter have been diminished in the eyes of many with the week before Resurrection Sunday simply called “Spring Holiday.” Also diminished or overlooked is that the bigger purpose behind the birth of the baby in Bethlehem was the cross of Calvary; that the purpose of the baby in a manger was realized in His atoning death on the cross; that the purpose of His birth was His death. Because of Christ’s thirty-three year journey from the manger to the cross, we have access to God Himself. Hallelujah!
Lord God, from the beginning of time You had a plan for the redemption of mankind to be accomplished through the birth, death, and resurrection of Your Son, Jesus Christ. *The fullness of God was revealed by His gift of love and righteousness through the helpless Babe who was scorned, died on the cross for the wrath of God to be satisfied, and then burst forth on that glorious Day to rise again. May we grasp in a fresh way that it is in Christ alone we stand;* it is in the death and resurrection of Christ that we live, now and forever. Thank you, Jesus! Amen.
*portions taken from “In Christ Alone” by Stuart Townsend and Keith Getty
