I ran across this in my inbox a few weeks ago and have thought about it a few times. It is a weekly message from James McDonald and it brings forth the idea of "Where Would We Be Without Jesus?"
I don't have a lot to add to what he says about it so I'll link to the article and let you read for yourself, but as hopeless as the world seems sometimes, can you imagine how much more despair we'd feel without the saving grace of Jesus. I mean, talk about hopeless. No light of the world. No comforter in the Holy Spirit. Nothing but judgement and law. No grace. Had Jesus not accepted the cup that was His to bear, our lives would still be...but they'd be much different. A timely message as we consider the birth of our Savior.
OK, I was going to link to it, but I can't find it! So I'll paste the text from, "The Weekly Walk" email I received below. To visit James McDonald's site to to walkintheword.com
Where Would We Be Without Jesus?
"And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, 'Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?' And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, 'Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that He can open the scroll and its seven seals.' " - Revelation 5:2–5
Revelation 5:3 says, "And no one in heaven (no angel) or on earth (no living human being) or under the earth (no dead human being, certainly not Satan) was able (worthy, had the weight) to open the scroll or to look into it." Now if Christmas had never happened, that would be the end of the story.
Take a minute and think about that. How dark would the darkness in this world be without the Light of Christ who is the Word of God? John 1:1 says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Jesus is the Living Word of God who tells about the written word of God. Try to imagine if Christ had never come. John 1:14 says, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten Son of the Father, full of grace and truth."
Back in Revelation 5, John says, "I began to weep" (v. 3). Not a child weeping; kids cry a lot. But an adult weeping at the prospect of being without the revealed Word of God, the Apostle John began to weep - loudly. The word refers to a very intense, bursting forth of unrestrained grief. That's what he felt when he considered the prospect that God's Word would not be known.
Revelation 5:5 “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered…” (has overcome; that’s a reference to His death and resurrection), so that He can open the scroll."
Jesus Christ, the Living Word of God is the only One who is worthy. Only He has the weight to bring the Word of God to us. Jesus Christ is the Revelation of God's Word to us.
That's why Isaiah 9:2 says this, "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of deep darkness on them a light shined." Where would we be without Jesus? Just think of it. We would not have the Living Word. We would be without the Light! We would not have the written Word. How dark would be the darkness? Impenetrable. Instead, we have great news: "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it" (John 1:4–5).
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