Last night while waiting for "Santa", I was watching a documentary about killer bees. These Africanized bees are much more aggressive than the European bees. When they attack, it is relentlessly. I learned that 500 stings from these bees inject as much venom as a single rattle snake bite! Some hives can contain tens of thousands of these killer bees. From the moment danger is detected until the bees have completely engulfed their target, as little as 10 seconds could have passed. Each bee stings only once and then dies. Like little soldiers guarding their home, these guys don't hesitate on embarking on what boils down to a suicide mission-all for the protection and betterment of the entire group. In other words, these bees are willing to die to save the others.
Jesus was like that. He was a King in heaven. But He was willing to humble himself and trade in His Kingship for slave ship. He was willing to die in order to save the rest of us. The difference between Jesus and those bees is that the bees are reacting to a natural instinct. But Jesus made a conscious decision to die for us. He did not have to do it, but He loved us so much, He did. He was more than willing to sacrifice His life to save ours. We always hear people say things like, "I would die for my child" or "I would die for my friend" or whatever. But how many of us would die, not just for those we love, but also for a stranger, EVERY stranger? Jesus did. You know, it's kind of funny: When it is our birthday, people bring us gifts. But on Jesus' birthday, He brought the gift...the Ultimate Gift! Praise God!
Romans 5:8 says, "But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
Father, thank you for loving us so much to send Jesus. I hope You had a very nice "Birthday", Lord. In Jesus name, Amen.
