Monday, August 15, 2011
Luke 2:1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)
REAL PEOPLE ... REAL PROBLEM ... REAL SOLUTION
Superman, Batman, Spiderman; it's been popular of late to bring comic book heroes to life on the "Silver Screen." But whether portrayed in garish drawings or by real-life actors, Superman, Batman and the like are fictional characters -- and that goes for Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne as well.
With the entertainment industry's blurring of the line between reality and fiction on a daily basis (so-called "reality shows" are hardly a slice of real life), it becomes even more important that we Christians make clear to others -- especially children -- that the Bible narratives and the people in them are historical and not fictional.
We notice, for example, how Luke establishes the historical setting for his accounts on more than one occasion. In this way the Holy Spirit underlines the historical nature of the account. Make no mistake about it, the Bible records for us the actual historical events by which the God who made all things came to the rescue of real people (us included) ensnared by sin and slated for death eternal.
Most of all and best of all, Jesus Christ is not fiction but exactly who the Bible says He was and is: the eternal Son of God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and the Son of Man, born of the virgin Mary in Bethlehem, the city of David -- our Lord and Savior.
All glory be to God on high!
