This is the time of the year we hear about the “Christmas Story.”
We’ve all heard about the shepherds keeping watch over their sheep at night, the Christmas star, the wise men, the baby Jesus- That’s the Christmas story most have heard.
You never hear the devil mentioned, do you?
Well, I’m going to bring him up, because the Word of God brings him up, and he’s one of the main reasons Jesus came into this world in the first place!
“The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.” -1 John 3:8
Did you catch that? Jesus was sent to this world to destroy the works of the devil.
Now maybe that doesn’t sound like the sort of thing that Christmas dreams are made of. It’s not exactly “tiny tots sitting under a Christmas tree with their eyes all aglow” and the usual festive atmosphere we think of as Christmas, but the truth is, it’s actually something really awesome to think about and celebrate.
If you’ve ever had your life shattered by sin that you’ve done, or someone’s done to you, then you should be thrilled to here that Jesus came into this world to destroy the works of the devil.
God is really, really clear about this-
“The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” -John 10:10
Look around you, then look at your own life.
The wreckage, damage and destruction of sin and the devil is everywhere. He comes to steal, kill and destroy and he’s pretty good at it. We walk right into the snare he has laid for us and sooner or later come to realize sin costs far more than we ever thought it would.
“For the wages of sin is death.” -Romans 6:23
Spiritual death, emotional death, death by a thousand cuts- destroying ourselves and others because we believed the lie- the lie that we could ignore God and follow the suggestions the devil whispered in our ear and not suffer loss because of it.
When Adam and Eve chose to sin it set brought death. We lose our lives on this planet because of sin and it’s wages of death.
Death was not God’s original intention for man, sin brought it in.
Not only does our body die eventually because of sin, we lose our very self when we sin. By degrees, like erosion on an ocean cliff being beaten by the waves, we become less than we were before.
Satan loves to make us “less than”.
The thief comes only to “steal, kill and destroy”, to make us “less than”.
He will do anything to make that happen.
The devil will give you the world if he can destroy your soul and make the person you are less than you were before.
He doesn’t mind giving you the world’s trappings as long as he can trap you!
For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? -Mark 8:36
When we read this verse we think of failing to enter heaven and ending up for eternity in hell. That’s how this verse is most often taken, and rightly so- Heaven and Hell are real places and we will one day end up living eternally in one them. But the truth is, this verse applies to much more that!
We lose our soul little by little every time we violate who and what we were created by God to be.
Satan takes us apart piece by piece, lie by lie, until one day we look in the mirror and wonder how we became the person looking back at us.
You can lose your soul long before you lose your life!
Jesus isn’t taken in by the deception like we are. He doesn’t fall for the tricks and lies of the devil.
Jesus doesn’t think dirt is a diamond like we so often do!
The heart of Jesus
When God looks at the work of the devil in our lives it angers Him. His response to our fallen nature was to show compassion.
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. -John 3:16
Jesus came and died for us so that we could have eternal life. This was far and above the most important thing in His mind.
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. -1 Corinthians 15:3
This is so much more than self-help and feeling better about ourselves. Jesus came into the world with an eternal purpose in mind. His goal was to keep you out of hell and to bring you into heaven with Him forever. When He died on the cross that was exactly what was on His mind.
I think it’s important to spell that out. The priority is eternal life. Everything else follows after that. But after a person receives eternal life Jesus deals with the secondary issues that the devil causes in a believer’s life.
Jesus is not content to leave us fumbling around here on earth until we get to heaven. He’s well aware of the ruthless attacks of the devil.
Jesus came into the world to destroy the works of the devil– to keep us from falling for the devil’s lies in the first place- and if we’ve fallen, to forgive and heal and restore what was stolen from us by satan.
“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” -John 10:10
The devil’s working to make you “less than” and Jesus says, “No! I’ve come to give you life, not take it away! And guess what? I’ve come to give you “more than”!
Rather, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him!”-1 Corinthians 2:9
The story of Jesus coming into this world is not a sweet soft Christmas carol sort of event- it’s actually about God coming to do battle with the enemy of our souls, destroying the works the devil has done and is planning to do, and God giving us the “more than” of His life!
God appeared in the flesh to bring forgiveness and deliverance to those who have been caught in the devil’s snare and imprisoned by Satan.
“For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.” -Colossians 1:14
Jesus came to earth on a rescue mission. Whether it’s your need for eternal life, or the ability to resist the temptations of the evil one, Jesus is there for you. He’s able to keep you standing, and He’s able to pick you up if you fall.