Christ came to change everything
Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.” Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty round bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow. And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it. No lion will be there, nor any ravenous beast; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there, and those the LORD has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away. — Isaiah 35:3-10
Even though the prophet Isaiah lived hundreds of years before Jesus was born, God allowed him to see that Christ’s coming would change everything. Here Isaiah describes the impact of Jesus’ birth with a picture.
In this picture nature itself is turned upside down. The desert rejoices and bursts into bloom. Life and fertility come to a place that was barren and dead. Isaiah foresaw what we know. God’s salvation in the babe of Bethlehem changes everything. Through him our dead and barren hearts have been filled with life. Our savior forgives our sins, gives us new life, and promises eternal salvation.
Unfortunately, we don’t always see this. Sometimes the circumstances of our lives combined with our own sinful nearsightedness lead us to doubt. We feel that our lives are more like a dry and dead desert than ones bursting with miraculous life.
Christ came and it changed everything. But it doesn’t always match up with what we expect. We look at the outward circumstances of our lives and doubt. Maybe you are stuck in a body that is slowly failing and the pain and suffering seems unbearable. Or maybe you’re using your words and your life to point to the Lamb of God and the reactions that you face isn’t joy but anger. Or… well, I suppose I don’t need to give any more examples. You know what it is in your life that leads you to wonder why Jesus isn’t doing more for you and your struggles.
But Jesus has come and that has changed everything. He has washed away every sin with his holy precious blood. That’s why there’s no reason for us to fear God. He has established the Way of Holiness and placed us on it. We have been redeemed.
We have been placed on this highway, not because of anything we have done, but because in his grace and mercy he has placed you there. One day this reality will be fully realized and we will be filled with never ending joy, but even now it is ours through faith.
Through the Gospel God comes to us and convinces us of the same thing, even when it doesn’t seem that way on the outside, we know that Christ’s coming has changed everything, and this is our reason for joy. The joy that we will one day experience when God takes us home to be with him forever can begin to fill our lives even now.
Happy that Christ’s birth, changed my eternal destination to heaven, just like you!