Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands: Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
Hebrews 2:7-9
The moment sin entered into the world through Adam’s fall, a divide between God and man was created. Once, Adam and Eve had enjoyed perfect fellowship with God, but now instead of rushing to meet Him, they tried to hide. Now, we are all born into this world as sinners who are separated from God because of our sin.
God’s perfect holiness cannot tolerate the presence of sin. But His perfect love desires a relationship with us. So God sent His Son into the world to bridge the divide and pay the penalty we could not. That is the meaning of Christmas. “Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice” (John 18:37).
Though we do not usually think of it as a Christmas song, “He Came to Me” perfectly sums up the reason Jesus was born in Bethlehem.
The gulf that separated me from Christ, my Lord,
It was so vast the crossing I could never ford;
From where I was to His domain, it seemed so far,
I cried, “Dear Lord, I cannot come to where you are.”
He came to me, O, He came to me.
When I could not come to where He was, He came to me.
That’s why He died on Calvary,
When I could not come to where He was, He came to me.
