Talk Together
Family conversations with God’s Word.
Christmas reminds us of family. Ice skating on frozen lakes, sipping hot chocolate from oversized mugs or decorating a home with lights is more fun with a family member by your side. What activity does your family enjoy doing during Christmastime?
Sadly, because we live in a broken world, not everyone gets to celebrate Christmas with the people they love. Every family experiences brokenness because of sin. Did you know Jesus had brokenness in His family too?
While Jesus was perfect, the family line He was born into was not. Did you know he was related to a man named Judah who sold his brother into slavery? He also had a relative from the Old Testament called king Manasseh who worshiped idols!
Why would our perfect Savior be born into a family like that? Jesus’ birth, His family and His time on Earth fulfilled the prophecies and promises God gave the Israelites. Jesus lived a perfect life, but the brokenness of His family showed people’s need for a Savior!
When God came to Earth as a baby, He did not stop being God. Jesus was fully God and fully man — a miracle! The book of John talks about Jesus becoming human. Can you help me read John 1:14-17?
ESV
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about Him, and cried out, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He Who comes after me ranks before me, because He was before me.’”) For from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
What did Jesus bring? He brought grace and truth! The people in Jesus’ family needed grace and truth just as much as you and I do!
Jesus came to save the angry, broken, confused and sad people. The empty, fearful, guilty and hopeless people. People like you and me.
And guess what? If you’re a follower of Jesus, He’s forgiven your sins, adopted you as His child and is always with you. You are never without family during Christmas because you are part of God’s family.
During Christmas, we celebrate Jesus. Because He lived a perfect life, died in our place and rose again from the grave, Christians have an eternal family. Jesus is Immanuel — God with us.