Christmas Day: The Divine Invasion

Early Christians who were living in the peace and prosperity of Corinth struggled with the same misplaced priorities. In the verse above, the Apostle Paul had to exhort them to a life of greater thanks-living and thanks-giving. This is the Law of Sowing and Reaping, and it is equally true in the spiritual realm as in the physical realm. You always reap in direct proportion to your sowing. It is absolutely impossible to do otherwise. Paul exhorted these Christians to sow generously so that they could reap generously, because in their thanksgiving they had only been sowing sparingly. He wanted them to be able to one day reap generously in the spiritual harvest that God’s Spirit made possible.

Paul shared this same principle with another group of Christians in Galatia, but his emphasis was on the type of seed that was being sown. “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life” (Galatians 6:7–8).

As you reflect this Thanksgiving, what does your sowing record look like? Did you mostly sow in the flesh or in the Spirit? Was it sparing or was it generous? I lovingly encourage you to heed another exhortation from Paul: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers” (Galatians 6:9–10).

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Christmas Day—December 25

When the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Galatians 4:4–5

As the popular song says, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year!” From Thanksgiving until December 24th, preparations intensify and expectations increase—especially among children and all those who are still young at heart. The Jewish people also had expectations and prayed for the advent of God’s promised Messiah for over a thousand years. That’s a long time to wait for Christmas! But finally, “when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman.”

From man’s perspective, the time for this divine invasion did not seem right. God’s calendar seemed to be out of sync with the realities of the world at that time. To most Jews, it seemed like the worst possible time for God to send His Messiah, especially as a helpless little baby. Nor did they want a Messiah who would “save his people from their sins,” as Gabriel had announced to Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus (Matthew 1:21). It was not liberation from sin or holiness of life they were seeking. The only Messiah they wanted was a military Messiah who would ride in with divine fury and force Rome out of Palestine.

God’s sovereign manipulation and redemptive intervention into history always catches man off guard. That’s because God almost always does the unexpected, the unthinkable, and the unimaginable. Christmas is the greatest proof! No one could ever have thought it up in advance. The Christmas event is not how we would have had God intervene in history. From our perspective, that’s not how a true Messiah would come into the world.

But Christmas annually reminds us that God is always right

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