God created Earth and He created everything in it. He created land, water, plants and animals. Then he created man, known as Adam. From there, he created Eve. Later in the story, sin entered the world which led to separation from God.

We all know this story if we grew up in the church. Sin entered the world and humankind was separated from God. But then God sent his son, Jesus Christ, to the earth in human form. Christ walked the earth and performed any miracles as he brought people to him. When Christ died on the cross, that’s when we became free. Before Christ, we were all slaves to sin. Sin had us wrapped in chains and there was no escaping it. When Christ died for us, all sins were forgiven.

Everyone on earth is justified and has the ability to pursue Christ. Christ died for all of us so we can be forgiven and join him later on in heaven. But we can only join him if we ask for forgiveness and confess that he is our Lord and Savior. So many people get stuck living life for themselves, which is very easy to do. But when we go through life only living it for ourselves, we have a constant yearning for someone to love us and to care for us. That yearning can only be filled with faith, bringing us back full circle to Christ.

Christ’s sacrifice was for everyone. The gift is available for all of us; we just have to ask for it. Christ loves us right where we are. We do not have to do anything or perfect anything to ask for his forgiveness. In Luke 15, several stories are told that illustrate how God is looking for us. He wants us to turn to Him and beg for mercy. He will reward us for our faith and then we can walk in His shadow for eternity. The one story in Luke 15 that stands out to me is the story of the Lost Son.

In the story, a son comes to his father and asks for his inheritance money early. He runs off with the money and spends it on money, expensive items, and other sinful things. Later on, after he has spent all the money, he comes back home. It states in the scripture that the father was watching for his son and when he saw him, he ran to him and kissed him. He then threw a party to celebrate that his son had returned.

God does the same thing to us when we return to Him. When we ask Him to forgive us for our sins, he rejoices and celebrates. The father in this story yearned for his son to return home and was watching for him. When his son came back, the father ran to him. God views us as our sons and daughters and he is waiting for us to return to Him. God’s arms are open for us. He gave us salvation with Christ. This Christmas season, let’s take a moment to remember the meaning behind the season and embrace God and His son’s birthday. Christ came to this earth to rescue us, to free us from our sins. All He wants from us this Christmas is for us to return home.