The Miracle of Christmas 圣诞奇迹
Dexu Xia
[God sent] his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. Romans 8:3
At a garage sale, I found a nativity set in a beat-up cardboard box. As I picked up the baby Jesus, I noticed the finely sculpted details of the infant’s body. This newborn wasn’t cocooned in a blanket with closed eyes—he was awake and partially unwrapped with outstretched arms, open hands, and fingers extended. “I’m here!” he seemed to say.
The figurine illustrated the miracle of Christmas—that God sent His Son to earth in a human body. As Jesus’ infant body matured, His little hands played with toys, eventually held the Torah, and then fashioned furniture before His ministry began. His feet, once plump and perfect at birth, grew to carry Him from place to place to teach and heal. At the end of His life, these human hands and feet would be pierced with nails to hold His body on the cross.
“In that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins,” Romans 8:3 (nlt) says. If we accept Jesus’ sacrifice as payment for all our wrongs and submit our lives to Him, we’ll find relief from sin’s bondage. Because the Son of God was born to us as a real, wiggling, kicking infant, there’s a way to have peace with God and the assurance of an eternity with Him.
What’s the difference between celebrating Jesus at Christmas and celebrating the season of Christmas?
Dear God, thank You for sending Jesus to earth as a human baby to free me from the bondage of sin and death.
上帝就差遣自己的儿子成为罪身的形状，作了赎罪祭。—罗马书8章3节
在一次的车库销售活动，我在一个破旧的厚纸箱里，发现了一套耶稣降生场景的摆设品。当我拿起婴孩耶稣的小雕像时，发现它的雕工精细。这名新生儿并不是闭着双眼被包裹在襁褓之中，而是清醒地将双臂伸到毯子外面，并且张开双手、摊开十只手指头，像是在对人们说：“我在这里！”
这个小雕像具体而微地呈现了圣诞奇迹──上帝差派祂的独生子，成为人的样式来到世上。婴孩耶稣日渐长大，祂的小手开始抓着玩具。多年后，祂会手握经卷。开始传道之前，祂的手还会打造家具。祂刚出生时那双圆润且完美的小脚，在年岁渐长之后就开始走遍各城各乡，让人们得着教导和医治。当祂在世上的生命终结之时，这双手脚被长钉刺穿，使祂的身体被悬挂在十字架上。
罗马书8章3节说：“上帝宣告罪再也不能控制我们，因为祂把自己的儿子交了出来，在肉身里为我们作了赎罪祭”（新普及译本）。若我们接受耶稣为了偿还我们的罪债所做的牺牲，将自己的生命交给祂，就能脱离罪恶的枷锁。因为上帝的儿子为我们降生，成为一个活生生、会扭动、会蹬腿的婴儿，使我们能与上帝和好，并且拥有与祂同住、永生的确据。作者： 史珍妮
在圣诞节时，欢庆耶稣降生与庆祝圣诞，你认为两者有何不同？
亲爱的上帝，感谢祢差派耶稣成为婴孩来到世上，救我脱离罪恶与死亡的枷锁。