“‘I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,’ says the Lord Almighty. But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap” (Malachi 3:1-2).
What are we really getting ready to celebrate on December 25?
The answer is something people can lose sight of in the secularized celebrations of Christmas, focusing on the sweet baby born in Bethlehem but not thinking about why that baby was born in the first place.
The image of the manger with a shadow in the shape of a cross is such a powerful visual reminder of why Jesus came to earth. God loved us so much that he sent his Son to live a perfect life and then suffer and die. That’s exactly why Jesus was born. For us.
We needed Jesus to come into the world because without him . . . well, as the prophet Malachi wrote in the verses at the beginning of this post, “Who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears?”
When Jesus appears in his glory—not as the meek and mild babe born in Bethlehem, but as our risen Lord who has all things placed beneath his feet and comes to judge the earth in righteousness—who of us will be able to stand before him?
No one.
At least, not one of us by our own power. As sinful people, we know full well that we can’t possibly hope to endure that awesome day or stand in the presence of the righteous God who says, “Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy” (Leviticus 19:2). No, we know that if it were up to us and what we tried to do to be holy, those futile attempts would never be enough. We could never stand on our own.
But it isn’t up to us. And we’re never alone.
Jesus is the one who makes us holy and blameless to stand before God. He has refined and scrubbed us clean—he has washed us in his blood and given us his robes of righteousness to wear. By his perfect life, innocent death, and triumphant resurrection, we know that we can—and do—stand before God as his dearly loved children.
That wonderful, grace-filled truth doesn’t lead to complacency in our lives of faith. Rather, it motivates us to grow closer to our Savior. Even though our salvation is secure in Christ, the prophet’s urgent, timely call remains: “Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him” (Mark 1:3).
In other words, be ready! In a previous post, we looked at how we can wait patiently. Now, we see how we wait intentionally. As God’s people, we want to prepare our hearts and be ready for his return at all times and places. How? By listening to God’s Word.
God’s Word—both the law and the gospel—works in our hearts: first convicting us by showing our need for the repentance of sins against God and others and then comforting us by showing the forgiveness won for us at the cross by Jesus. God’s undeserved grace motivates us to live for him every day.
So, dear Christian, as you prepare to celebrate Christmas, remember why Jesus came: so you can stand before God, holy and blameless—more refined than the purest silver and gold, cleaner than the whitest robe.
Law and Gospel is a solid, easy-to-follow presentation of the two basic teachings of Scripture: the law—our great dilemma—and the gospel—our only solution. This book from the People’s Bible Teachings series shows that understanding this foundation is essential for true Christian faith and life.
Alex Brown is the marketing and content copywriter at Northwestern Publishing House. He has his Master of Divinity degree from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary and enjoys reading, writing, and spending time in God’s creation.
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