Matters of Faith: THE REASON FOR THE SEASON

By Reverend J. Loren Russell

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”

John 3:14-17 KJV

As we near the fourth and final Sunday of the Advent season, the Candle of Love is lit. This candle represents the unconditional love of God who sent His only begotten son into the world to deliver mankind from eternal death. (The other candles which are lit on each of the preceding Sundays are Hope, Preparation, Joy, and the Christ candle, which is lit on Christmas day.) This fourth Sunday, we eagerly light he candle of Love anticipating the coming celebration of the birth of God’s only begotten Son.  

No one expressed this excitement better than the Apostle John as he quotes the words spoken by Christ Himself. Jesus looked back into the annals of time at the actions of Moses as he journeyed through the wilderness to the Promised Land. He explains how Moses lifted the bronze serpent on a pole and told the Children of Israel that anyone who had been bitten by poisonous snakes and looked at it would live (Numbers 21:8). Looking at the serpent  was a supernatural act of God. What was a source of death became a way of life. In like manner, Jesus would be lifted up and anyone who looked up and believed in Him would not only live but would have eternal life.  

This was a gift from God. He so loved the world that He gave! If we stopped right there, that would be enough. The creator and architect of the universe gave. He could have stopped giving when He gave us the world, the heavens, the land and the sea. He could have stopped when He gave us life or when He gave us dominion over everything that He created. If He had stopped there, that would have surely been more than enough. However, Jesus said, “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” 

He didn’t stop because of His unconditional love for us. He not only gave His son, He also gave life, offered eternal life and tells us why He did it when He concludes this marvelous passage of scripture with these words; For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” Please don’t miss that! He came into the world so that we would be saved, or in laymen’s terms,  “rescued from eternal death” (KJV Bible Dictionary). We are that important to God. Our salvation is the reason for the season!  

Be Blessed!

Rev. J. Loren Russell is President/CEO of The JLR Company for Church Financial & Strategic Consulting; an associate minister at both Goodwill and The Greater Universal Baptist Churches in the Bronx; and creator & host of “Matters of Faith – The Radio Show” Mondays 8:00 – 10:00 PM. Listen on Matters of Faith on Facebook LIVE.

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