“He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor; therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; and His own righteousness, it sustained Him.” Isaiah 59:16

The Reason For Christmas

When my adult son made some really, really bad choices—again—my heart’s grief was intense. His lifestyle had become entirely inconsistent with the way he was taught as a child. He had confessed faith in Christ, yet he struggled mightily with making the right life decisions that should follow that confession.

This exactly mirrors the Israelites’ lifestyle back in Isaiah’s day. God’s was rightfully angry (after all He had done for them, and made very clear how their own heart should be before Him); yet He longed with intense yearning for them to make things right with Him. My heart felt the same as God’s heart. I was so heartbroken that I begged God for mercy. “Save my son for my own sake and Yours,” I prayed in earnest. And after a bit of reflection, I knew I would gladly (yes, gladly) give my life for my son’s, if that was possible. I longed for a way to restore his relationship to God.

This is the reason for Christmas. Though we don’t often see today’s Scripture in a Christmas card, it is an explanation of why God sent Jesus to us. God looked at all the evil and injustice on earth, and saw there there was no one who could stand between man and Himself—there was no intercessor. Therefore, He brought salvation all by Himself, for His own sake, by bringing forth a Savior. (To be clear, He knew from eternity that this would have to happen. He didn’t all of a sudden decide to do it because one day He noticed that the world was evil.)

In one sense, He had mercy on Himself because of His great love for us. He wants us with Him in eternity, and He had to give us a way to get there. But He also showed His compassion—He did it because we couldn’t save ourselves. We couldn’t climb out of the miry clay on our own. We had become our own enemy. We didn’t grasp the magnitude of the trouble we were in, but He knew, and He made a way for us to get rid of our sin.

Our Lord and our God, have mercy on us. Save our loved ones from destroying themselves both on earth and for eternity. We can’t make a way for them, but You already did, because of Your great love. We praise You now and forever. Amen.