I was talking to a couple of ladies this morning about the relationship between Christmas and Easter. In the midst of this conversation two words came up - two of my favorite words - "redeemed" and "reconciled".
We understand that Jesus came from heaven - that He was sent - to redeem all of humankind from the penelty of sin - that is death. We also understand that Jesus gave up His life on a Roman cross so that our sin debt would be paid. Furthermore, we understand that Jesus arose from the dead - that He arose from the tomb - so that we could be eternally reconciled with God our Father.
This afternoon I was reminded of one of my favorite passages of Scripture - a passage I think of often around Easter but rarely around Christmas. And yet, without the gift of Jesus at Christmas we cannot celebrate the gift of Christ at Easter.
Romans 5:6-11; You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
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