Few of us would associate God’s love displayed at Christmas with war. But the Christmas story entwines these themes. The incarnate God, Jesus Christ, was and is the fulfillment of the ancient military promise of God recorded in Genesis 3:15. Just after the fall of Adam and Eve, the Lord God declared the serpent’s future defeat:

           I will put enmity between you and the woman,
                       and between your offspring and her offspring;
           he shall bruise your head,
                        and you shall bruise his heel.

These words frame our understanding of Christmas. Jesus Christ did not come to hand out delicious sugar cookies and sing carols. While we are right to revel in holiday warmth and cheer, we cannot forget this: Jesus Christ came to deal out death to the devil. Christ’s wrath-absorbing death frees us from Satan’s accusing power and ensures our cleansing from all sin.

Jesus did all this because of his great love for you, as Ephesians 5:2 makes clear: “Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” The incarnation was an act of war, yes. But it was above all an act of love. It was a “fragrant offering” to the Father, and it is the anthem of our redeemed life.

Because Jesus died, the serpent’s head is crushed.

—Owen Strachan, author, The Warrior Savior