MORNING WATCH REFLECTION

TOPIC: REDEMPTION
The Body is a Temple of the Holy Spirit
I Corinthians 6:19-20
19Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is
in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20For you
have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
Isaiah 44:22
I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist.
Return to me, for I have redeemed you."

For Christians no gift is more treasured than God's free gift of grace, which
brought Jesus Christ into this world on Christmas Day. Heralded as the
Messiah prophesied in Isaiah who would unite Jew and gentile together in
God's eternal kingdom, the teachings and life of Christ have called millions
back to faith in God.
And if the meaning of one life's work can be counted by his or her influence
over generations, certainly, Christ's life deserves recognition and study. For
God's favor, His gift of grace, was surely upon Him and His teachings,
although His life also demonstrates that affliction is often common to the
human condition even under most blessed of circumstances.
This grace, and the affliction that followed, would eventually extract heavy
personal sacrifices from its giver. The gospels record how this Messiah
risked death amid an exhausting crush of crowds in order to teach and heal,
while encountering conflict from the religious authorities, only to willingly
offer Himself into the hands of Roman executioners.
Theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer said that such grace was costly above all,
because it cost God the life of His Son: Ye were bought at a price', and
what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace
because God did not reckon His Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but
delivered Him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God.
In Christian theology the mystery of the Incarnation of God is immeasurable,
yet some of what can be known about it Bonhoeffer reveals: the purpose
was redemptive. This sinless Messiah walked with us on Earth and bore the
costs of human sin, as His deity prepared the way for salvation's call into

God's eternal love and grace. His public and bodily resurrection would
provide evidence Christ is empowered to offer eternal life and relationship
with God the Father if one would only repent and believe in His gospel.
Redemption didn't come easily for God and in the same way repentance
doesn't come easily for us. In an era of self-esteem and power politics,
true repentance for one's sin encompasses a desire for permanent change,
not a temporary change just for show or change to get something in return.
Furthermore, repentance breeds a vulnerability that transcends our natural
urge to protect ourselves. So repentance can be said to put others before
ourselves in the service of truth. Choosing God's desires over one's own
becomes the goal as the battle for personal honesty rages in the heart, mind
and will until God steps in to offer peace amid our deepest struggles.
Initiated by the Holy Spirit, repentance trusts that Christ paid the price for
our sins and reflects faith that the Lord forgives us and wants only what is
best for us. As faith grows change ensues, bringing a love that blesses,
revives and reconstructs relationships with God and others.
Moreover, when real change comes, the ego dies. For it takes humility to
admit failures; courage to leave behind the past to embark on an
unexpected future; hope and trust to weather the immediate pain and
eventual consequences of the sin that broke God's heart, our heart and the
hearts of others around us. Finally this death brings sorrow for a time.
But when the ego dies, grace rebuilds. Forgiveness cleanses the wounded
conscience, and guilt is released. New life begins, and joy supplants sorrow.
Faith heals doubt in God's goodness and forgiveness, leaving a repentance
without regret that makes us grateful for our entire life's journey, our
successes and failures as well as our suffering, because we realize that our
every moment has been lived in a way that has led us back to God's grace
and love.
God's gift of costly grace places redemption at the center of the Christmas
message, and so should we. Forgiving others, asking forgiveness and
personal repentance are wonderful gifts to give, for when we do, joy
becomes our inheritance and peace our vocation. May God's forgiveness
reign deep within your souls this Christmas.

Christmas is of course the story of the birth of Jesus. That much most people
know. But the real question is, why did Jesus come? What was his reason for
coming? Why did he have to come to planet earth in the first place? What, in
theological terms, is the significance of the Incarnation?
Very simply, Jesus came to save us from our sins. That is why he came. That
is why he was born. That was his mission, and that is what the Christmas
story is all about. The Bible makes this abundantly clear. Plenty of passages
tell us why he came. Here are just a few:
-For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever
believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
-I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me
should stay in darkness. (John 12:46)

-You are a king, then! said Pilate. Jesus answered, You are right in saying I
am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the
world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.
(John 18:37)
-Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus
came into the world to save sinners. (1 Tim. 1:15)
The Incarnation has to do with our sin problem, and how God has dealt with
it. That is why Jesus came. Sure, there are all sorts of positive spinoffs from
this, but his main reason in coming was to die for our sins so that we might
be reconciled to God. That is the heart of the Christian message and that is
the heart of the Christmas message.