By: Pastor Cheryl-Ann Dublin
District Overseer
Church of God of
Prophecy
St Vincent and the
Grenadines

It is the most wonderful time of the year! I am not talking about the countless sales aimed at getting us to spend more than is necessary. Nor is it because of the possibility of receiving that gift that you were hoping for all year. It is the time for thanking God for sending to us the gift that mankind needed most of all. The gift that came to be our redemption and bring us back to God.

This is the season when we celebrate the son of God becoming the son of man, so that the sons of men can become sons of God. He came because God loves his prized creation, man. When Adam and Eve realized that they had disobeyed God, the guilt of their disobedience made them hide from God. Genesis 3:10 – We heard you, we hid because we were naked.

Previously in verse 9 – God came calling – Adam where art thou? It is as if God was saying to Adam, what has become of you do? As if to say, ‘’Adam what have you done? Adam, do you realize the position that you have placed your self in? Bible commentator Matthew Henry suggests that the question spoke not so much to the place where Adam was, but the condition that he had found himself in. This call of God can be looked upon as a gracious pursuit. Consider this, God did not call after Lucifer, He did not call after the fallen angels, but he graciously called after man.

Adam where art thou? Do you know what condition you are in? Do you really know where you are right now? Are you in a good place, that if God decides that today is your final day on planet earth, instead of you hiding from God, would it be God separating you from Him?

That question cannot be truly answered without God’s help. In verse 7 of Genesis 3, we see Adam trying to hide his own sins. The bible say they sewed fig leaves together in an effort to cover themselves. Even after their disobedience, we see a loving God giving to them what they needed to hide their nakedness. Verse 21 declares he made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.

I want us to note that the leaves that Adam and Eve would have used would leave gaping holes in what they were trying to hide, and also, they would decay very quickly. Isn’t that just like man’s effort in trying to effect his own righteousness? Isaiah declares that our righteousness is like filthy rags.

God provides a covering for man’s nakedness, one that would be more lasting. Adam offended God, yet God provided for him, a covering that is more suited to his needs. This would mean that God was giving us a sign that was confirmed in the latter part of Hebrews 9: 22 – ….without shedding of blood is no remission.

John reiterates God original intent in John 3: 16 – 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.

When you hear the word ‘For’ you think of reason. For assigns reason to an event. John explains the reason is love.

God loves us. Not just that he loves us, but he so loves us. So, speaks to the extent to which his love reaches. It was the same John who declares in 1 John 4:8 – God is love. Love is God’s impulsive action. I declare to someone today who may feel unloved, that God loves you very much.

I say you, but I should really say us. The verse does not declare that God loved so loved Israel, but that he loves humanity. I would even dare to say, that it does not declare that he so loved the saint, but that he loves the world.

He loves the drunk and the sober, the homosexual and the straight, the honest and the thief, the kind and the crass, the Jew and the Gentile. God loves us all.

What did this love do? God’s love gave His son to be our atoning sacrifice (1 John 4:10 NIV). Jehovah God gave His only begotten son, for the cause; the cause of bringing the world back to him. He came to give us access back to the father (Ephesians 2:18.

Cast your minds back to the Garden of Eden, the fig leaves that Adam sewed for himself and his wife was not sufficient. God had to provide the covering himself. He ultimately did that for all humanity through Jesus Christ.

While God’s love appears to be reckless because it is available to all, no matter who you are, it calls man into an action. One simple action, to believe. This is not a nominal assent to a historical fact. It is an acceptance of the gift; and acknowledging the intention of the giver. This calls for trusting in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary. This is a consenting to the fact that only Jesus can deliver us from the penalty of my sins.

The gift that awaits the person who believes is Eternal life with God, through the son, whose coming into the world we celebrate, Jesus, the Christ. One day Jesus Christ will return to this earth, not as a babe in a manger, but either as your judge or your King. Believer on Him now and you can greet Him as your King.

As we celebrate this season, let us strive to express this love that God demonstrated to us to all our fellowmen.
Merry Christmas, St Vincent and the Grenadines and I wish you God’s best for 2021.