Karma is a... difficult thing...

When wronged by another, it is a natural human instinct to seek retribution.  We want the other person to admit they were wrong, we want to retaliate, we want, in short, for life to be fair.  But if you are over the age of ten, you have already learned the hard truth: life isn't fair.  Life doesn't even try to be fair.

Christians are not immune from the desire to get back at those who harm them.  Following the example of Jesus is an imperfect process because we are mere mortals, not divine.  We have all the same foibles and follies of any other human being.  When we have been wronged, it is instinctive to fight back and to try to get back at those who wound us.

In Psalm 70:2, we read, "May those who want to take my life be put to shame and confusion; may all who desire my ruin be turned back in disgrace."  In these words of King David, a great, yet flawed, man of God, we find the human need for payback exemplified.  He wanted revenge.  He wanted his faith in God to be rewarded through the disgrace of those who sought to wound him.

This is part of the reason that the sacrifice of Jesus is so extraordinary.  He was without sin, he had earned no punishment, yet, he accepted the punishment due the flawed rest of humanity on our behalf.  Although he didn't earn any reason to die on a cross, he did so for our greater good.  He went willingly and knowingly, the true sacrificial Lamb of God, asking only for our faith and trust in him in return for his anguish.

In this happy season of Christmas, with the focus on Santa Claus, gifts, reindeer and all the material things that make worldly life comfortable, it is easy to disconnect from the reason God sent his son to us in human form.  We want to focus on the happy manger scene instead of the pain of the cross.  Christmas is the fun part of the story, filled with gifts and laughter and music and beautiful visual images.  It is easy to avoid the pain and wounds of Jesus hanging on the cross when Santa is throwing gifts with our name on them around.

However, the joy of Christmas is only an introductory chapter of God's story for us, the humanity of Jesus a mere glimpse of his endless power and amazing grace.  The Christmas story without the cross is unfinished, meaningless, without substance.  It is the life and ministry of Jesus, taken in its entirety, that is the true reason for this Christmas season.  It was a ministry without retribution, without exacting the true penalty, without looking for what is fair or justified.  It was, and is, quite simply all about the grace that began in a manger, was justified on a cross, and continues through the loving sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ.

There is no better reason to celebrate!  God's grace to you and yours.