our daily bread
Dexu Xia
More Than a Hero
We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14
As Star Wars fans around the world eagerly await the release of Episode 8, “The Last Jedi,” people continue to analyze the remarkable success of these films dating back to 1977. Frank Pallotta, media reporter for CNNMoney, said that Star Wars connects with many who long for “a new hope and a force of good at a time when the world needs heroes.”
At the time of Jesus’s birth, the people of Israel were oppressed and longing for their long-promised Messiah. Many anticipated a hero to deliver them from Roman tyranny, but Jesus did not come as a political or military hero. Instead, He came as a baby to the town of Bethlehem. As a result, many missed who He was. The apostle John wrote, “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him” (John 1:11).
Lord Jesus, You are our Savior, and we praise You for coming to die that we might live.
More than a hero, Jesus came as our Savior. He was born to bring God’s light into the darkness and to give His life so that everyone who receives Him could be forgiven and freed from the power of sin. John called Him “the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (v. 14).
“To all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (v. 12). Indeed, Jesus is the one true hope the world needs.
Lord Jesus, You are our Savior, and we praise You for coming to die that we might live.
At Bethlehem, God demonstrated that to love is to give.
不仅是英雄
道成了肉身，住在我们中间，充充满满地有恩典，有真理。我们也见过祂的荣光，正是父独生子的荣光。-约翰福音1章14节
世界各地的星际大战迷，正热切期待《星际大战8：最后的绝地武士》上映。人们追溯至1977年，分析这部系列电影成功的因素。有新闻评论者指出：当世界正渴望一位带来新希望和正义的英雄时，《星际大战》恰好满足了人们的渴求。
在耶稣降生的那个年代，以色列人民受到极大的逼迫，他们热切期待上帝应许已久的弥赛亚降临，许多人盼望有一位英雄能救他们脱离罗马暴政。但耶稣并不是以政治或军事英雄的姿态出现，祂反倒成了降生于伯利恒的一名婴孩。因此，许多人认不出祂是谁。使徒约翰就写道：“祂到自己的地方来，自己的人倒不接待祂。”（约翰福音1章11节）
耶稣来到世上不是要作个英雄，而是要成为我们生命的救主。祂带着上帝的荣光降世为人，进入黑暗并献上祂自己的生命，使每一个接受祂的人都能得着赦免，从罪的权势中得着释放。约翰称祂为天父的独生子，“充充满满地有恩典，有真理”（14节）。
“凡接待祂的，就是信祂名的人，祂就赐他们权柄，作上帝的儿女”（12节）。的确，唯有耶稣才是这个世界所需要的真正希望。
主耶稣，祢是我们的救主。祢降世受死，
使我们可以得着生命，我们感谢赞美祢。