In the Christmas carol, “Joy to the World,” verse four reads this way:
He rules the earth with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of his righteousness
And wonders of his love…
What are some of the wonders of His love that we see in the Father’s great master plan of the incarnation? Obviously, we see one of the greatest displays of His care for mankind.
In the first chapter of John’s gospel, we have insight into this divine gift of ransom.
We have all benefited from the rich blessing he brought to us—one gracious blessing after another.
(John 1:16 NLT)
The blessings that have come to us through Jesus truly are gracious blessings. That is, they are free to us—no strings attached. A gift ceases to be a gift when you have to work for it.
We can get more glimpses into the wonders of His love as we look at another wondeful Christmas carol, “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.”
Verse One
Hark! The herald angels sing
Glory to the new-born King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!
God has reconciled with Man!
The angels that heralded the birth of Jesus to the shepherds came with news that the earth had not heard before. No longer did people have to be afraid of God. Some of the first words that Adam spoke after the fall were, “I hid myself because I was afraid.”
Because of sin, Adam was in hiding and in dread of the God who loved him. The shepherds expected the worst when they encountered a divine visitation.
Fear Not
The message of the angels in Luke 2 is the same message that God has for the world today. Fear not!
You don’t have to be afraid of me any longer. My will toward men is only good and through this baby who is the Messiah, I have proclaimed peace to the world. God is at peace with mankind.
We need have no fear of someone who loves us perfectly; his perfect love for us eliminates all dread of what he might do to us. If we are afraid, it is for fear of what he might do to us and shows that we are not fully convinced that he really loves us.
(1 John 4:18 TLB)
God and sinners are truly reconciled. The enmity has been exchanged for friendship. God does not merely tolerate you; He likes you. He rejoices over you in song.
Your hairs are numbered and His thoughts are always on you. The gift of salvation is available for all who will accept and receive it.
Verse two of “Hark the Harold Angels Sing” goes like this:
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
Hail the incarnate Deity,
Pleased as man with man to dwell;
Jesus, our Emmanuel…
We can see what God is like.
The main mission of Jesus on the earth was to get to the cross to be our substitute. He was the world’s greatest Teacher, but we did not need just more teaching. Man needed a substitute and He became the Lamb who took away the sin of the world.
One of the greatest things Jesus did on His way to the cross was to give us a clear picture of our unseen Father.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.
(John 1:14,18 NIV)
Verse 18 in the Amplified Bible puts it so wonderfully, “…He has declared Him, He has revealed Him and brought Him out where He can be seen.”
God went public. Jesus brought God out in the open. There is no longer any excuse for us to say that we don’t know what God is like and that His ways are mysterious. Jesus made the intentions and will of God clear for the world to see for all time
“The Son reflects God’s own glory, and everything about him represents God exactly” (Heb. 1:3 NLT).
We know how God treats people by looking at the gospel accounts of the life of Jesus. Acts 10:38 tells us that Jesus went about doing good, healing all that were oppressed of the devil. Jesus came undo what the devil had done to man.
If Jesus was doing good 2,000 years ago, He is still doing the same today. He never left anyone sick and suffering to teach them a lesson or to develop character.
We see how Jesus valued people that the religious leaders of the day thought were worthless. Jesus picked unlikely candidates to carry on the mission of the church. He saw beyond the human weaknesses to what they could be empowered by Him.
A.W. Tozer wrote, “What we believe about God is the most important thing about us.” Do you see your Father as He was represented accurately by Jesus or do have a religiously altered version? Go to the gospels and get to know your Father.
Jesus is our Emmanuel—God with us. He is not far away and hiding from us. As you celebrate Christmas this year, realize and let your heart accept the “Wonders of His Love.”
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