Day 2, Monday, Dec 4
With Christmas fast approaching it is easy to get lost in all of the wonders of the lights and festivities. While many of us are busy wrapping presents to prepare to place under our Christmas trees, we sometimes neglect to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas and why we observe this wonderful holiday. The birth of Jesus Christ is much more than a little babe found in the manger. The reality of Christmas could also be found in the Garden of Eden.
In the book of Genesis God had told Adam not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and that in that day when Adam ate of it he would die (Gen. 2:16-17). Adam and Eve, due to the actions of the crafty serpent, ate the fruit they were commanded not to eat (Gen. 3:1-6). Death, as a consequence of eating the fruit, had now entered creation (Gen 3:19). Adam and Eve were now cursed (Gen. 3:16-18).
However, it was at this moment when God declared a promise directly to the serpent and indirectly to Adam and Eve that the “seed of the woman, would crush the head of the serpent” (Gen. 3:15). This promise in the distant future would be realized in a baby born in a manger whose works on the cross would certainly destroy the works of the serpent (cf. 1 Jn. 3:8b). This little babe in the manger would mean nothing without the first Christmas, told to the serpent, and indirectly to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
As we think of Christmas throughout this month remembering the Holy Babe in the manger, let us not forget to reflect back to where it all began. The first Christmas was given in the Garden of Eden.
Dr. Luther Smith, Biblical Counseling