Thursday: A Savior
“ But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us. . . according to his mercy . . . ”
The dictionary says a savior is "one that saves from danger and destruction." History is full of leaders who promised to be the one who would save. Adolf Hitler promised to be the savior of the German people. He died in an underground bunker. Jim Jones established a place in Guyana which promised sanctuary and salvation to his followers. 909 of them died from a poisoned beverage. Our world has seen any number of people who have claimed to be its savior. All, except one, were evil and selfish.
Only God can really save us. Who would have expected a peasant baby, born in a stable, to be the Savior of the world? Because our sins are forgiven, we can have a new relationship with God. No longer do we live in fear of God's judgment on us. In the coming of God in Christ, our Savior, we have the certain knowledge that God is for us.
Our salvation was accomplished because of God's grace and mercy, not because we are such wonderful people. That is what a gift is. It is something freely given to another with no expectation of payment. God's only motive is love.
This gift is our opportunity to begin again, to be renewed. We are freely pardoned from all the sins of the past when we accept God's Christmas gift to us. Truly God acts in unusual and mysterious ways!
For Reflection: To whom or to what do I look for my salvation?
A Prayer Seed:
Savior of the nations, come,
Virgin's Son, make here Your home.
Marvel now, O heaven and earth,
That the Lord chose such a birth.
Ambrose of Milan, 4th century
