“She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21)
In the first chapter of the New Testament, there are a lot of names as the genealogy and birth of Jesus Christ is established and mentioned. It is amazing how all of these generations of men and their children lead up to the birth of Jesus. We are reminded that amidst all these names of fathers and their sons, the goal is still the same for God. Jesus, the one and only Son of God, was set to live on earth and then die on the cross, raise Himself from the grave, and return to be with His Heavenly Father as the main part of God’s plan to save his people from their sins.
The angelic messenger reminds us that the goal of Jesus is still the same. Jesus is our Savior, as he saves us from our sin. This description of the work of Jesus reminds us and also inspires us for how we should live our lives on earth. Jesus’ sole purpose for living on earth was to save us from our sins. Jesus saves us from the penalty of our sin, then from the power that sin has over us, and finally from the presence of sin. When we stop to meditate and reflect on these truths, we will be full of gratefulness and awe and wonder of what Jesus did for us on the cross.
In the midst of summer, as we have longer days to do more leisure activities, and more time to spend with others or complete tasks that have been buried during the school year, let us not forget what Jesus did for us on the cross. May the truth of Jesus saving us from our sins be the motivation to help others come to know Jesus and the freedom that He gives to all who will receive Him.