When you think of Christmas combinations, what comes to mind? Holly and ivy? Mistletoe and wine? Fire and frost? Turkey and stuffing? Sweaters and socks?
Would anyone think of redemption and adoption? Without for one moment wishing to reduce those great blessings to the level of the others, it shows how completely we can miss the significance of the birth of Christ.
When we contemplate the Babe of Bethlehem, who are we looking at? Why is he there? This child was sent to us! He came with purpose. He came on a mission. God himself is at work in the world for salvation.
We are told that ‘when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons’ (Galatians 4:4-5).
