Preparing for Advent – Who Am I to Christ - Ransomed

Greetings Dear Reader,

Here is another word that I see in a western context but I need to see in a more theological one.  In my fallen state I need to be aware that my failure to measure up to God’s standard created a debt.  Again, I do not need to acknowledge this for it to be true.  In fact, failure to acknowledge it makes it true.

The incarnation of Christ is the first step in physically paying that debt.  The only way for me to be ransomed from the debt I owed was for someone who did not owe the same debt to pay the price.  Jesus lived his life without incurring the debt to God’s standards that I have incurred.  He was the only who could, therefore, ransom my debt.

Again I must view the cradle as the first step to the cross.  I must see that the birth in Bethlehem was the primary step that would lead to the walk up a hill outside of Jerusalem.  The price for my ransom was God’s blood and he willingly paid it.  “No man takes my life from me but I lay it down freely.”

Everything about Advent drives me to this point.  The giving is a reminder of the giving for my ransom.  The celebration should be focused on the incarnation and not on things.  Jesus is the reason I have any comfort and joy.  We celebrate that child because he becomes the man who will ransom my debt to God.  How can anything matter more?

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store."