A Place to Be BornSample

A PLACE TO BORN

“Look! It comes with the clouds! All will see it, even those who speared it. All the peoples of the world will cry over him. It will certainly be so. Amen! I am the Alpha and the Omega, saith the Lord God, the Almighty, who is, who was, and who is to come." (Revelation 1.7,8)

There was no place for Jesus to be born in the city of Bethlehem, but the humility of his birth cannot obscure his reality: He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords! Despite its immense power, the Bible presents us with a surprising and intriguing feature: Jesus does not force anyone to believe in him. It only enters and dwells in the heart of those who are open to it. At a certain point, in the revelation of John, Jesus himself explained this to the church in Laodicea: “- Listen! I'm at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I'll come into your house, and we'll have dinner together.” (Revelation 3.20)

How is it possible to understand the love of this King who, even giving his own life for the salvation of every human being, does not force anyone to accept this love or follow it? It is certainly a great privilege to serve and worship such a merciful King, is it not? This God-given freedom, also called “free will,” is proof that God desires to be obeyed and loved. Instead of creating “remote-controlled robots”, He made man endowed with the ability to distinguish between good and evil and to choose to live according to His will or outside of it. This is the most important decision in human life, and God deeply desires that everyone choose salvation. Unfortunately, not everyone makes the right choice, so the text of Revelation tells us that “Everyone will see it, even those who speared it. All the peoples of the world will weep because of him.” (Revelation 1.7) There will certainly be tears of joy at the second coming of Jesus, but also many tears of sadness shed by those who had the opportunity but rejected him.

This Christmas, commit to challenging someone to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior of their life. Don't be ashamed or afraid. If that person lets Jesus be born in your heart, you will have been God's instrument for the greatest of all human works: that of seeing a sinner become a child of God through the message that flowed from his lips. Even the angels didn't receive this privilege, so enjoy it and gladden the heart of Jesus!