December 1st

Most people assume the beginning of the Christmas story is when Jesus was born as a baby. Some would say the Christmas story began when God sent the angel to tell Mary that she would be the mother of Jesus. The first chapter of the Christmas story actually took place thousands of years earlier.

Excited first-time parents often send mail to their friends and family. The cards simply read: “We’re expecting!” That is a birth announcement.

Approximately 6,000 years ago, long before Bethlehem existed, God sent us a birth announcement. He told us of a coming day that we would eventually call Christmas.

Let me explain.

Adam and Eve were the first people God created. God loved them and wanted them to love Him in the same way. However, Adam and Eve had to make that decision for themselves. God would not force them to love Him. Love is a choice. A choice to be faithful. To be committed. To honor. To respect.

One day, Adam and Eve made the choice to love themselves more than they loved God. That kind of a selfish decision is called sin. Their sin broke the perfect relationship they had with God. From that point forward, they were divided. Separated from God.

Closing that gap and being reunited with God would be costly. The reason was that in choosing to reject God they were rejecting the source of life. They were choosing death! But not just physical death. Their spirits also died.  

Nothing and no one could reverse the curse. Unless there was a perfect life that could die in their place, the curse was fatal and forever. But no one on earth was worthy or willing to take their place.

It is right then and there that we get the birth announcement of Jesus!

So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” -  Genesis 3:14-15

God said that the Enemy (represented in the Garden by a serpent) who tempted Adam and Eve, would one day be crushed by a descendent of Eve. That descendent was Jesus. That means that the first announcement of baby Jesus came at least 4,000 years before Mary heard from the angel!

So when was the beginning of the Christmas story? Was it when Joseph and Mary arrived in Bethlehem? No. Was it when the angel appeared to Mary? No. It was when Adam and Even heard God tell the Enemy that a descendant of Eve would one day crush his head.

There are many blessings of Christmas, but the reason for Christmas is to repair the relationship between God and man and to forever crush the one who tried to tear us apart.

Right now, take a moment to thank God for loving you enough to make a plan that would bring you back to Him. Then, take a few moments to ask God to give you the courage to talk to someone about the reason for Christmas.