Thankful for a Saviour
I am grateful as we come to the end of 2022 that we can celebrate the birth of one whom the angel said would be named Jesus for He would save His people from their sins [Matt. 1:21].
It is good to remember that as we come to Christmas. It is the birth of a Saviour we are rejoicing in, not having a happy family – for not all of us have them and Christmas can be a time we are acutely aware of the pain, disappointment and conflict we experience in our families, or of the grief of family lost.
It is good to remember that as we come to Christmas. It is the birth of a Saviour we are rejoicing in, not having a happy family - for not all of us have them
And it is not a celebration of our prosperity, for not all are prosperous; nor of our health, for some of us will spend Christmas in hospital, and others be exhausted by their chronic illness; nor of our menu, for some of us will be grateful for the simple food we can afford.
WE celebrate the birth of a Saviour of sinners, and that is something we can all rejoice in as we come to the end of a year which has been, as Andy reminded us at the carols, a pretty mixed year for many, and tiring for most. It’s been a year with many good things happening – the births of many babies, a year of uninterrupted schooling, a year where we have been able to meet on Sundays without interruption, where campus ministry has been resumed, conferences like the Gospel Coalition national conference held; a year where some have become Christians. There’s lots of good things to be thankful for.
But it has also been a year where many of us have experienced the not rightness of this world and the frailty of our own being. Where serious sickness has interrupted our lives, floods have changed our plans, and our weariness has weighed us down. A year where for some the complexity of the effects of sin – in disrupted relationships, failed promises, disappointed hopes – has grieved our souls and we have struggled to keep trusting and showing that in patient endurance of trial; a year where sometimes we have experienced the grief and pain of our own folly.
it has also been a year where many of us have experienced the not rightness of this world and the frailty of our own being.
At the end of this year it is good to be able to celebrate the birth of the Saviour of sinners, a rescuer, not of the good, the healthy, the together, but of the failed, the afflicted, of those whose lives are caught up in the chaos of sinful human decisions and actions, whether their own or of those close to them, those who are ensnared in the death that embraces all our race.
At the end of this year it is good to be able to celebrate the birth of the Saviour
His birth is worth celebrating for He is
A sure Saviour
His death is effective in dealing with our sin, in justifying all who believe in Him so we have peace with God and know His grace every day [Rom. 5:1-2].
A mighty Saviour
who always lives to keep His promise and deliver those who call out to Him [Rom. 10:9-13]
A present Saviour
not distant or just our Saviour at the end, but a Saviour with us, and who hears and gives mercy and grace now to us in our need [Matt. 28:20, Heb. 4:14-16, 2 Tim. 4:17-18]
A faithful Saviour
who will always keep His people [John 10:28-29, 1 Thess. 5:24, Rev. 7:15-17]
A Saviour who loves His people
[John 15:13]
And because the Lord Jesus is our Saviour every believer, as we come to the end of 2022, can say with the rescued David
Psalm 34: 3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt his name together!
4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant,
and their faces shall never be ashamed.
6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
and saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
Blessed is the one who takes refuge in him!
May you have joy in Jesus this Christmas because you know for yourself He is your Saviour and have found the blessedness of taking refuge in Him, in all the joys and trials, the ups and downs of this life.
May you have joy in Jesus this Christmas because you know for yourself He is your Saviour and have found the blessedness of taking refuge in Him, in all the joys and trials, the ups and downs of this life.
