How many times have you ‘sighed’ over the way things were going? I’ve had stretches of my life when I thought ‘I can’t believe this is happening!’ Yet an undercurrent of His faithfulness was still there, despite the turmoil. Bad things happen because of our own sin, but we can be innocent victims and innocent accomplices to the sins of others. We can be powerless to a sin saturated world and its systems of thinking. The birth of Jesus came at a great costa to rescue, restore and renew us. I need this reminded everyday. I am resolved to follow Christ, but I need His mercy and grace in my here and now moments.
“As we celebrate the birth of Jesus, we also need to reflect on the violence of grace. What do I mean? Jesus came to decimate our self-oriented kingdoms of one so that he could welcome us to his glorious kingdom of wisdom, grace, and love. Grace destroys so that it can rescue. Grace destroys so that it can bless us with something much, much better. Grace destroys what has held us in bondage and frees us to live, love, and serve One greater than ourselves. Jesus came to endure a violent death so that in the violence of grace he could free us from the kingdom of self and transport us to his kingdom of life and light that will never, ever end. Now that’s a story worth celebrating!” - Paul David Tripp, Come, Let Us Adore Him: A Daily Advent Devotional
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