One tradition you don’t want at Christmas …

Simpson had to fight to introduce chloroform. Lister battled to have antiseptics accepted. Copernicus was forced to retract his belief that the earth revolved around the sun.

Resistance to change among us human beings is an ancient problem!

We even allow a demand for change to keep us from our Creator. Surely, all the world would stampede to God if only He would relent on His insistence of changing us.

Then comes along the Christmas story, where once again our Savior is busy setting examples for us. This time, He demonstrates how love embraces change …

“So the Word became human and made his home among us …” John 1:14.

Did Jesus really change that much? Check this out …

“In the beginning the Word [Jesus] already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it,” John 1:1-5.

Yes, He changed that much!

The Word was literally, physically born into this world as a human being. The Word desired to radically change Himself just so He could save us. Jesus did more than embrace change, He volunteered for it. It was His idea.

At Christmas, the Word changed Himself so that He could come into the world and provide us with the means to be changed into His likeness.

“And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes,” Galatians 3:27.

Today, we may think of tradition when we think of Christmas, but that first Christmas day was awash in radical, wondrous, gracious, loving change.

All so that we could be changed.

Are you allowing God to carry out the purpose of Christmas in you — to transform you into the likeness of Christ? Or are you holding to that ancient tradition of resistance to change?

Scotty