The 12 Days of ChristmasSample

Christmas: Horizontal and Vertical

Back in the orchard on a beautiful afternoon, God made male and female in His image. What an astonishing creation—human flesh imaging God! 

But before long something horrible happened. Sin destroyed the unity humanity experienced, and all creation was affected by their plunge into sin. One ramification was the distortion of male/female relations. The battle of the sexes began. Loneliness and selfish independence replaced unity and interdependence. 

As a consequence of sin, God issued a devastating declaration: woman’s desire would be for man, and man would rule over woman (Gen. 3:15–16). The author of Genesis recorded this traumatic news, and one chapter later, he used the same juxtaposition of “rule” and “desire” to describe the power struggle of sin in Cain’s heart and will (4:7).  

But the first Christmas came as a down-payment for breaking the curse. The Spirit “overshadowed” the Virgin (Luke 1:35). The Father sent the God-man. A male, without a human father, arrived through a mother’s womb. Human flesh once again perfectly imaged God, only this time that “image of the invisible God” was incarnate in the person of the Son of God.  

The way Jesus came demonstrated male/female interdependence; the God-man Savior needed a human mother. Now, through Christ (the Head of His church) and His Spirit, all humans have reason to be dependent on His authority, to put away selfish independence and be reconciled to one another (1 Cor. 11:11–12). Our God, who is Just, has shown mercy and abolished the divisions between us.

In Christ we sing of “God and sinners reconciled.” And that reconciliation is both horizontal and vertical. Because of Christmas we can be reconciled to God. Because of Christmas, we can also be reconciled to one another. 

Give thanks that Christ has reconciled us to God; and because of Him we can be reconciled to each other. 

Photo credit: Vince Fleming on Unsplash; used with permission.