Saint John's Lutheran Church

Do you understand the concept of Christ’s bearing the sin of the world? The apostle Paul explained it this way, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (II Corinthians 5:21) I can only imagine a fraction of what that all means. Mark Mosley captured a small drop from the ocean of truth encompassing this profound act of infinite sacrifice. This is his humbling reminder of just how far Christ Jesus went on our behalf:

Do you subscribe to any magazines? Most American households do. When I was a teenager, my parents subscribed to a number of them. One of my favorites was the Reader’s Digest. Each month I eagerly anticipated its arrival in the mail. And I always had a certain order to my reading. First, I’d read the humorous anecdotes in “Laughter Is the Best Medicine” and “Life in Uniform.” Finally, with all the preliminaries out of the way, I would begin reading the real-life stories. Each story seemed to tell about a calamity, a catastrophe, a tragedy, or an adversity.

Well, dear friends, by the time you read this article, the year 2009 will be history. Some of us are exclaiming, “Wow! 2009 was a great year!” Many of us are sighing, “Whew! Finally, 2009 is over!” How about you? Are your circumstances weighing you down even now as you face 2010? If so, you may be searching for a way out of your suffering. You may be vainly trying to find relief in the faulty solutions of this world. Yet, as we learn from the apostle Paul, God is the only solution to our struggles.

In his portrayal of the Bethlehem nativity scene, Rembrandt focused attention entirely on the Babe in the manger. He did this by painting a shaft of light so that it falls exclusively on the Christ-child. Although he included other figures, they are shrouded in shadows. Rembrandt wanted nothing to detract from the significance of that baby. The Christ-child in the stable was no ordinary baby. He was the Word who “became flesh and dwelt among us,” (John 1:14) in whom “dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” (Colossians 2:9) He was the Savior of the world. For that reason, Rembrandt wanted the Lord Jesus to be the sole object of our attention and adoration.