By Brandon Lemons
Jesus’ mission, which was declared to Joseph before Jesus was even born, was to “save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Many Christmas songs sing of this mission. One example is O Holy Night, the first verse of which says:
O holy night!
The stars are brightly shining;
It is the night of our dear Savior's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!
I love the line that says, “the soul felt its worth.” As a boy, I learned that in monetary terms, something is only worth as much as someone is willing to pay for it. I learned this the hard way with baseball cards. I had a lot of baseball cards, and I thought I could make some money by selling some of the cards at a baseball card show. I had a price guide that indicated what the cards were supposedly worth, but no one wanted to buy my cards. The cards had sentimental value to me, but I learned they have no real monetary value if no one is willing to buy them.
Jesus sacrificed deeply – thus paying an immense price – by coming to earth in human form and dying for our sins (1 Corinthians 15:3). That is how much He loved us. His sacrifice demonstrates that our soul does have magnificent worth – because of the price He paid to redeem it. As we approach this year’s Christmas celebration, let’s thank Jesus for paying such an incredible price on our behalf!