DECEMBER 20 THE HOPE WE HAVE By Phil Moser Teaching Pastor, Fellowship Bible Church; Author of the Biblical Strategies series
Today’s Passage: 2 Corinthians 5:15–21
Mark Twain once said, “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” While Christmas celebrates the birth of Christ, to truly appreciate that birth, we must remember the purpose behind it – and the purpose behind that purpose. The Bible teaches the purpose of Jesus’ birth was His death – He was born to die. Our passage expresses this truth: “And He died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for Him who for their sake died and was raised” (2 Corinthians 5:15). And the purpose of His death was our reconciliation to God. As the text continues, “…All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself” (2 Corinthians 5:18). Reconciliation means to be restored to a right relationship after separation, conflict, or estrangement. All of mankind chose our way, not God’s, and the penalty for that choice was death (Romans 6:23). To be reconciled, we would need someone to die in our place who had never sinned (2 Corinthians 5:21). So we read in Galatians, “…God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4–5). Believing in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus not only gives us life – it gives us purpose. We no longer live for ourselves; we become His ambassadors, sharing how others can be reconciled to God through Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:20). Because, just like Jesus, the two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.
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